My real superpower isn’t talent

“You are so talented.”

Sometimes I receive a comment like this on social media. I am so grateful for it, because I see it as a compliment and I gladly receive it. It offers me the encouragement that we humans need so often.

At the same time, deep down, I sometimes feel a little bit like an imposter, like I am tricking everyone into thinking that I was lucky enough to be awarded some hidden talent from above, when in fact I don’t have one.

Not that I have no talent at all, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I have some extraordinary gift either. If talent was a chart with “no talent” on one side and “100%” on the other, I would probably sit somewhere in the middle. Like most people would.

The majority of people are average at most things, and that is completely okay.

But I do have one superpower, if you will.

And I won’t say it is hard work, because lots of people work hard, and it would be unfair for me to claim that I am the only one or that I work harder than others.

No, it is something on top of that.

It is the ability to follow through.

While others battle perfectionism, my motto is: better done than perfect. I always finish what I start.

There have been a few boring books that I wish I had abandoned, but apart from that, this quality has helped me bring projects to life.

I often see people with so many ideas constantly changing direction, moving from one path to another. And I am just as tempted to give up and start something new, something better…

But before I do that, I need to finish what I have already started. And not do a half-hearted job, but actually give it my full 100%.

I always finish a painting, even when it looks hopeless. Sometimes I finish it and throw it away, but other times those paintings become my favourites, the ones I would never have had if I had decided to abandon them halfway through.

I always come back to this question:

What if something good is waiting for me on the other side?
Will I give up now?

What if my best painting is waiting for me to get through the “ugly” stage?

So maybe I’m not someone with a talent. Maybe I’m just someone who stays with things long enough to surprise myself.