Blurts & Spasms

Quora answer to "How do I find things that I am good at?"

Thanks for the A2A Marc. There are a lot of different ways to approach this. For example, you could:

1. Do some of the online self-assessments that help people learn more about themselves. One that many people have found useful one is called "Strengthsfinder 2.0."

2. Explore interests and practices that involve on one or more of the thirteen dimensions of self defined in Integral Lifework (https://www.integrallifework.com/).

3. Expose yourself to many different areas of interest: through books, classes, TV shows, YouTube videos, etc.

4. Direct your inquiry inward through mediation and wait patiently for answers to arise (because, eventually, they will).

5. In whatever way possible, spend time actually doing different things out in the world, with other people who have passion in those areas.

Now what is interesting is that being good at something doesn't mean - as is popularly believed - that you will a) enjoy doing that thing, or that b) you will be able to have a career doing that thing. These are misconceptions reinforced by those rare individuals who happen to find something they enjoy, that they are also good at, and which also provides them a means of supporting themselves. But again, this is very rare (as, for example, most actors and musicians can attest to). Also, finding something you enjoy may be more important than finding something you are good at - it is not uncommon to have talents in areas that don't particularly interest us, and in fact that can turn into a kind of trap if you aren't careful. For example, I had a 15 year career in Information Technology because the field came easily to me and it turned out I was quite good at it. But I did not enjoy it very much, and that led to my feeling stressed, exhausted, depleted and increasingly depressed after fifteen years of technogeekery. I had to leave that profession and reboot my life, focusing on what was important to my whole being, not just what I had a "knack" for that made money. And of course the opposite might also be true: you might find you really enjoy something that you aren't particularly gifted at, or which doesn't provide any income. But so what? Isn't your contentment and happiness important?

Lastly I'll bring up the 10,000 hour rule. It has been proposed that it takes most people - even really talented people - something like 10,000 hours to fully develop the skills, habits, confidence and expertise around something they may be very good at. That's a lot of hours, and really it just points us towards a more time-honored principle: that it takes time, discipline, commitment and focus to become really good at something. Again though, I would offer the caveat that enjoyment, happiness, a sense of purpose, and multidimensional self-nourishment (again see Integral Lifework (https://www.integrallifework.com/) to understand what I mean by this) are much more critical to our well-being in the long run - and aren't necessarily related to one's aptitudes, skills or expertise.

My 2 cents.