The Natural Talent Myth

The Myth of ‘Natural’ Talent…

Growing up I was constantly hearing a term that is so commonly used that I don't think people even understand what they are saying, it’s a term thrown around far too often and one that can be very disempowering and even used as an excuse. It was around 2005 when witnessing a very young Max Anstie flying 110ft through the air on a small wheel 85cc Kawasaki when I used the term myself and that was “wow that kid has some natural talent”

It didn't take long for Mervyn (Max’s Dad) to quickly correct me and introduce me to a whole new world of beliefs quoting “ there’s no such thing as natural talent, that boy has been instructed and taught from a young age, he has a desire to learn and loves riding the bike but in no way, shape or form is he naturally talented, it is all learnt."

I will be honest, I did kind of take the idea on board but I wasn't convinced myself!

You see I had grown up with a cultural paradigm (a belief pattern) that had me believing that some people in this world are more talented ‘naturally’ than others, and when I actually look back now I cringe at the thought that I actually used to buy into that, which was little more than others excuses for not achieving! but when you really think about it do you not think it’s bizarre that people buy into a belief that some are born greater than others?

It took me a few years to really take on the belief that Natural talent was a myth and the power of purposeful practice was really the factor for success, in fact it wasn't really cemented into my beliefs until I had spent more time with Mervyn coaching me and then reading the book ‘Bounce’ by Matthew Syed (a brilliant read I highly recommend).

This book also explains the complexities of different sports favouring different body types and why different environments across the world have Athletes that seem to dominate certain sports based on environment, available facilities and beliefs held within the culture. As Jeff Spencer would say “ you can never make a race horse a plow horse, you have to make sure the biology matches with the discipline and then you have to cultivate the skills’

With Motorsports we are less dependant on the biology factor unlike Athletics for example.

Now Talent is real but talent is learnt, talent is experience, its perfecting an execution of a given task and the only thing really that makes someone better at something is the time spent studying, practicing and doing, but more importantly having a desire to do whatever the activity is and get enjoyment from doing whatever it is.

The more and more I learn about how the brain operates the more the myth is put to the test, and you begin to realise that it’s not that some are greater than others its that some allow themselves to become great, others put all kinds of invisible barriers and excuses in their way. They study the greats, watch footage and practice, they seek help and advice and work on goals and plans.

I want to just clarify something here, and that is the fact that desire and wanting to do something is the determining factor to make acquiring talent possible, if you have no desire to do the task yourself you will never excel at it. Some may argue that with kids , some take to things more naturally than others and I would say that it is a matter of environment, opportunity and nurture as well as positive encouragement. I will use my Brother as a simple example!

At the age of 3 I was gifted a PW50 dirt bike and it took a while before I could ride it without assistance but I did achieve it and actually rode a motorbike before a push bike, I was probably about 4 by that time. Now my brother on the other hand could do the same by the time he was 3! now does that make him more naturally talented? NO!

You see he had taken in my failures and success and already had a head start before he even tried, he was keen to learn because he saw how much I enjoyed it and that spurred him on, he had taken in information that I didn't have access to and effectively learnt some of his skill before even attempting the task. Many younger brothers advance their learning through older siblings and even parents who have been on the same path before them, Malcom Stewart and James are a good example, Malcom it was said was a more natural rider than James, but who did he learn from? he had his older brother making the mistakes and accelerating his learning and not having to go through a lot of the failures personally, giving the illusion that Malcom mysteriously had more ‘natural talent’. The same could be said more recently of the Lawrence brothers, Hunter being the test pilot as it were and Jett having his older brother to model from.

Buying into the natural talent myth really is dangerous, it can make you lose hope and really limit what you can bring to the world. would it not be better to believe that you can achieve great things if you just worked hard and in a productive manner, if you searched for knowledge and had a strategy and was persistent! wouldn't that give you hope that you can really achieve anything in life or would you rather buy into an excuse, a horrible disempowering belief that can have you listening to those already powerful doubts in your mind!

I believe that shifting this belief is the start of really achieving what you desire in life. Some of you may think that the idea is crazy but before dismissing the idea I recommend you read ‘Bounce’ and begin to question where your beliefs of natural talent come from in the first place.

Thanks for reading