we’re not particularly talented, we just try really hard

when i was younger, i was sure talent was the secret sauce to success. it felt like some people were just born with it—the violin prodigy, the star athlete, the kid who wrote short stories that made teachers cry. they had this spark, something the rest of us could admire but never replicate.

i used to think, wow, they must have been destined for this. it felt comforting, in a way, to believe in the idea of natural-born brilliance. if someone else had been handed talent at birth, then maybe my lack of it wasn’t my fault. maybe i just wasn’t meant to be extraordinary.

but life has a way of unraveling these neat little beliefs. the more people i met—truly amazing people—the more i realized that “talent” wasn’t the full story. most of the time, it wasn’t even half the story.

we love calling people “naturals”. it’s such an easy thing to say, a quick way to explain why someone is better at something than we are. but the more i think about it, the more i realize it’s a disservice to the work that goes unseen. it reduces years of effort into a throwaway compliment. it makes achievement look effortless when it’s anything but.

i think about this every time i sit down to write. there are days when the words flow easily, and i start to think, maybe i’m good at this. but most days? most days, it feels like i’m pulling teeth. i write a sentence, delete it, rewrite it, and still hate it. it’s exhausting and thankless, and there’s no guarantee it’ll lead anywhere.

so why keep trying? why put in all this effort when success isn’t promised?

there’s a concept in japanese culture called kaizen, which means continuous improvement. it’s about small, steady steps toward something better. it’s not about being the best or the fastest—it’s about showing up, over and over, no matter how small the progress.

so, no, i don’t think we’re particularly talented. but we’re stubborn. we get up after every fall, laugh at our mistakes, and keep trying even when it feels pointless. because at the end of the day, effort has a way of surprising you. one day, you wake up and realize you’ve become the kind of person you used to admire. not because you were born brilliant, but because you refused to quit.

and honestly? i think that’s more impressive than talent ever could be.

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