Which is More Important - Talent or Effort?

I watched a TED talk recently that was very thought provoking.  It got me thinking about some of the responses I’ve been receiving about my handiwork on social media – whether my crocheting, sewing, woodworking or any other activity I do.  Many people praise me for my talent, and I appreciate the words of encouragement, but I don’t think they understand what it takes to get “talented.”  I love working with my hands, creating things, learning new skills.  For me, the results are blankets, bowls, booties, paintings and any number of products, but they don’t come from 90% talent and 10% effort.  When I am able to accomplish a project that satisfies me and prompts me to share it with friends and family through social media, what is unseen are the projects that came before, the projects that didn’t turn out like I had hoped.  A skilled craftsman may be born with talent; but the result on display come from hours and hours of practicing the craft.  I think it’s safe to conclude that the extent of my talent is the result of a number of important things.

1.     Interest.  I love what I do.  I get excited about learning new things that allow me to use my hands to create useful, beautiful things.

2.     Perseverance.  Almost every project I have ever created has had a moment where I just wanted to throw it in the trash.  I have torn out more crochet stitches than there are grains of sand on the Galveston beach.  I have patched, repainted, and sanded until I couldn’t hold my arms up, but I never quit.  I determine to take each project to completion, no matter how long it takes.

3.     Openness to learn from others.  I used to have a problem in this area.  I thought I needed to be an expert from a short amount of practice, but I was wrong.  Being open to learning from others, accepting criticism on my work has helped me immensely in fine-tuning my craft.  It’s also been a relief to know I don’t have to recreate the wheel every time I want to try something new.  Someone has gone before me and perfected the very activity I am attempting and I would be crazy not to learn from the masters.

4.     Give myself permission to fail.  Yes, folks, you heard it right.  Failure is a very important part of learning.  It’s from our mistakes that we learn all the ways not to do things.  That’s why I complete everything I begin, not matter how bad it turns out.  Through the process, I will learn more from a “rejected” project than I will from one that turns out acceptable.  An added bonus to this important decision is that I am willing to take more risks, try new things, and get out of my comfort zone, which often results in some pretty amazing projects.

I would show you pictures of failed crocheting, but I tear down yarn and begin again until I have a final product that I’m satisfied with. If I had photos you would see the rejected bowls that have come before those that I post on social media or sold.  

I hope this blog has encouraged my family, friends and those that follow me on social media to reconsider the idea of talent.  All people are born creative because we are all create in G-d’s image and part of that includes His creativeness on which we can build our own skills with time and practice.