There was a year my school introduced a programme and it was a compulsory course for all students. The course is all about skill training and there were different kinds of skills to choose from. Unluckily for me, I couldn't find a skill that suit me while my friends already chose one that they already knew of. One chose cake baking while the other chose hat making. Just because I didn't want to be left out or behind, I also chose hat making.
The one that chose hat making knew such since she is a fashion designer and could work on a machine but I couldn't. When the training started, my mind wasn't there and my friend would concentrate while I was busy on my phone. Till the end of the training, I never had interest because it wasn't what I wanted but I just went for it since I didn't have a choice.
My friend worked hard even during the night with assignments they gave us and I would beg her to do mine for me. Perhaps I could have understood better if I also focused and worked hard on it. It was easier for my friend because she is a talented fashion designer and she would always work when she has no lectures. Many times, students would give her clothes to sew for them and this made her know how to make them easily but I found it uninterested and tough for me.
When we are talking about talent and hard work, we need to retrace back to the story in the Bible, of the master who gave his servants talents before going on a journey. One thing we should understand is that both terms are different. Being talented and not working hard to be known or conversant with the work is useless, likewise channelling your energy through hard work in the wrong way could be effort wasted in the end.
The one that was given five talents went and worked hard for five more, altogether had ten talents. The one with two worked hard and added another two. The last one didn't work hard to double the one talent with him and it was wasted.
Perhaps I might still not get the hat making even if I worked hard on it because it wasn't something I knew about or something I could say I want to learn because right from the beginning, I didn't show interest in it. It would be channelling my effort in the wrong way.
When you put your talent to work, you will be known and also be able to understand more in-depth about the skill or talent you have. Talented as a singer, if you do not listen to songs, practice and train your voice, there is no way you will be able to succeed.
For someone like me, I am talented in teaching and this was how a friend asked how I was able to find the job easier and make students understand better than her. Same thing with my writing skill. I have been writing right from a young girl and I worked hard to know some rudiments about writing and it is working for me today.
Being on a platform like Hive, if I never worked hard through engagement, make quality posts and also be able to know how to proofread, edit, format with styles etc, my writing skill is useless for me.
Just this afternoon, I and the person I brought to Hive commended my effort that he also wants to be like me because I am always active and writing every day on Hive. Only if he would be like me too but I smiled and told him it's a gradual process because I didn't start this one day but through hard work, I have been able to get to this stage in my life.
If one is talented and not working hard to fine-tune such skill, he or she would find it difficult to continue with it unless one works hard to help his or her talent succeed.