Being Referred to As ‘Talented’ Is Demeaning (Part 1)
The first thing that comes to my mind when people describe someone as being talented is that they are an underachiever. When someone is achieving at a high level people talk about their productivity not their talent. If you ask most experts to list the ten best players they ever saw, and the ten most talented players they ever saw, there would be very little overlap on their two lists (if any?) in most sports.
Have you ever noticed when describing a team that falls short of their goals, most of the talk centers around all the talent they have on their team (see Miami Heat 2011). I have yet to hear anyone talking about how talented the Dallas Mavericks or Green Bay Packers were, yet they are both the current champions in their respective sports.
Usually when you use the word talent to describe someone it means they are full of untapped potential. To me talent is a lot like an idea. Great ideas are a dime a dozen but a vast majority of them never become anything of value. It’s what you do with your idea or talent that matters, not the idea or talent itself.
If someone asked you to describe your Porsche or private jet airplane, you wouldn’t call it a great idea now that it actually works would you? In the same vein, you would not call Tom Brady a talented quarterback or Derek Jeter a talented baseball player. You’d call them great players. Just like you would not call Paul Bear Bryant or John Wooden two of the ‘most talented’ coaches of all-time, you’d call them two of the greatest coaches that ever lived. When someone is productive, people don’t describe them in terms of talent, but rather as a great player, coach or human being.
Most dictionaries define talent something like this: a special often athletic, creative, or artistic aptitude or a natural endowment or ability of a superior quality. According to the definition, these are things that are both desirable and given to us. We all like recognition, and desirable things tend to bring people more attention. But what kind of recognition feels better? Being complemented on something we are given, or on something we have earned? Being congratulated for having talent is like being congratulated for winning the lottery or having blue eyes. You really didn’t do anything to earn it, so how fulfilling can that attention be?
Contrast that with being congratulated for saving someone’s life or helping an at-risk youth get into college. This feels much more fulfilling because you actually did something of value as opposed to being given something of value.
So next time someone credits you with being ‘talented,’ make it a point to let them know how hard you are working, and how much more work you have to do to get where you want to be.
