" I didn't know I could do that..." - Hidden Talents

An older couple had lived in a London suburb all their lives. An ordinary working couple, who belonged to community organisations, but had never taken any sort of extra classes. 


An unexpected chance came for them to move to a small town in Dorset. In their early 80s, they swapped their London flat for a Dorset bungalow. They were thrilled to get out of the city. They embraced life in the town and took interest in some of the local classes on offer in the local community hall. One of them was painting. Due to basic schooling, neither of them had been given painting lessons at school. They thought they would have a try.


The man discovered a hidden talent. He could paint water colours and before he sadly died, he was showing them at local exhibitions.


A bittersweet tale. What might have happened if he had discovered his talent earlier?


This is a subject I'm passionate about and will definitely be a chapter in the book.


I have been prompted to write because a new TV series has started this week. It's called Hidden Talents. A brilliant idea. Finding people with hidden talents and giving them a chance of developing them.  An idea, given unlimited finances,  I would love to role out nationwide. Especially with young people.


The presenter, Richard Bacon said on a radio programme, "Most professional footballers are already showing their skills at the age of 8. What about the children who don't have the opportunity to show what they can do? Who knows what they could achieve?" Exactly.


http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hidden-talent


This subject is near my heart for two reasons:


1. In therapy, we like to discover a person's resources. It's their resources that can be turned to their advantage and help them find a way out of the difficulties they find themselves experiencing. It's one of my favourite parts of being a therapist. It's like opening a box of treasure. There are always nuggets of gold and some precious jewels.


Most people seeking therapy, don't think they're good enough in some way. If they're occupied doing something that isn't a particular talent, then it's not going to help their overall confidence. Doing something that comes from deep within and feels natural, may help. It doesn't mean it has to be easy, because we also gain confidence from meeting a challenge.


Twenty-five years ago, I was on a management training course. Something happened in the group and I sorted it out. The trainer asked me, if I'd had to think about what I'd done. I hadn't. It came naturally. Who knew? 


These talents do not have to be creative ones. Bar just one person I have met in the last ten years, every person I have seen with a problem with depression or anxiety has a creative talent too. That is hardly a surprise, since depression and anxiety misuse the imagination, and what do you need to be creative? I bet even the person who assured me they weren't creative, had a hidden talent.


NB: This does not mean that all creative people will have problems with depression and anxiety.


2. The education system in the UK for the majority of children does not appear to give enough credence to 'natural talents'. The focus seems to be in 'testing and 'grading' the natural talents off the educational radar. Cities, towns and villages all have people, who have been 'written off', who go round saying that they're stupid, but are not.


Adversity can bring out hidden talents. The recession has caused difficulties for many people. Some people, who have had to rely on themselves more, have discovered they are capable of doing all sorts.


I don't recommend war, but both the World Wars showed women that they could do so much more than housework or office duties.


When I moved to York, I answered an advertisement in the local paper and a few weeks later was chosen to be part of a chocolate tasting panel. It turns out that I have excellent sensory talents. Just think where that might have taken me from school, had it been known then? But excellence in my school was judged on exam success, so I left, believing that I was stupid. While I'm no academic, I've discovered I'm not stupid either.


Some years later  I had an annual assessment in my job at Waitrose supermarkets.  I was enjoying some success at the job. It appeared it could be attributed to a number of natural skills that I possessed. They didn't have exams in those subjects though. Who knew?


The TV programme has put some tests online. Have a go yourself and see what might be revealed. Could be exciting and life changing. 


http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hidden-talent/articles/take-the-hidden-talent-tests

I haven't tried it yet. I'll let you know what I discover.


Footnote


I haven't done the test yet, but something happened yesterday to remind me of this subject. 


I was in a branch of Waitrose yesterday. A floor manager opened a folder of papers, including a matrix for meal break entitlements. It looked a well used piece of paper. I couldn't help but mention that I had designed it and told them the story of it's inception. "Was it difficult to do?", someone asked. "No," I replied. "It just came to me in a meeting."


Designed by someone, so poor at maths, that I wasn't allowed to sit a maths exam. Designed in 1993 and "not improved by modern technology." I was given a £100 bonus for 'a good idea'.


It is an achievement that I've never thought much of, but now I feel very proud. (I still have all the original design work.) It is a life's achievement that this subject has stirred up in me again. I may not let it lie.

©RitaLeaman2012