Why creatives dislike the word, "Talent"?
What is talent and why it's not a word to be used as a compliment.
Hey there!
Thanks for dropping by. Today we’re digging into the actual meaning of the word “Talent“. It’s usually used to compliment someone. But, is it really a compliment? That’s what we’re finding out in this article!
A quick note: I don’t expect people to appreciate my work or search for certain words to use as a compliment. (I only seek more people to acknowledge my work). When I compliment someone’s work, this is just something I became mindful of after watching “Blue Period”, a Japanese show that talked about this topic in the first episode.
What is “Talent“?
I’ve heard of artists who dislike it when someone says that they are talented. I wondered why and looked into it.
I understood why this word upsets them. “Talent” implies that their skills naturally come to them and that they didn't do any work to achieve them.
A long time ago, I didn't know what “Talent” meant. Growing up, many people used that word as a compliment and so, I was happy to hear it.
After learning what that word means and what it implies, I realized it's not a word to be used for complimenting someone's work or creation.
This is what Google describes “Talent” as:
Inherited skills?
Whenever someone praises my art, most of the time, by saying I'm “Talented”. My parents say that my grandpa is an artist. They imply that I got the talent from him. And the person who hears this, replies, “Ah, I see”.
Like– Wha? My grandpa is not even my mom's dad or my dad's dad. He is the younger brother of my dad's dad.
Yes, I agree that my grandpa was one of the uncommon artists who were successful. (Although, I've never even seen him before.)
My parents never said that it’s the fruit of my efforts.
The exact conversation I mentioned earlier happened so many times that it started to bother me.
One day I talked to my mom about it. I said that I didn't get my skills from my grandpa and that I worked for it.
She brushed it off and said that my grandpa is a great artist who deserves credit.
It’s a good thing to give him the credit he deserves. But, they only ever talk about him when they're talking about my art skills. Why not at other times?
It's as if they’re implying that he's the reason I'm good at art.
I spent most of my life drawing and got better at it over time. It's a skill that I worked hard to build. It's not something I was born with.
Of course, the people who say to an artist that they are talented don't mean any harm. They just aren't aware of the real meaning of the word “Talent” and don't look deep into it.
Telling someone that they are talented also implies that only people who are born with “Talent“ can achieve goals and master a skill.
No, you work hard for it. Anyone can build those skills if they keep doing it long enough.
If you spent as much time as me practicing drawing, you would also be good at drawing– if not way better than me at it.
It also comes down to commitment, passion, and how much love you have for the work that you do.
No matter how many times I considered giving up, no matter how many times I was distracted and ditched art to build a different skill, I kept coming back to it.
Ever since I was a kid, I have always said that I am going to become an artist. And now, I acknowledge myself as one.
Now I'm aiming to become a professional artist. An artist who is acknowledged by a lot of people. An artist who can draw on the same level as the artists I admire– it's who I want to become.
Author's note: I wanted to talk about the meaning of talent for a long time. But, I never felt the need to write about it until this week. It’s still a trivial thing. I don’t critique compliments (Because— that would be nitpicking too much). And I’m always happy to receive any form of appreciation.
This is a short, rant article, exaggerated and different from my usual articles. Just wanted to switch things up and experiment. If you like it, let me know.
That’s it for today. If you liked this post, you can let me know by leaving a quick like, comment, restack, or share this letter with others.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this post and I hope it was helpful. Come again next week on Friday for a ✨new post✨
- Harshini
You're right! I used to hate it before but I understand that people don't have to search for the right words to compliment someone. Just to be clear, I don't expect people to compliment my work, or carefully choose their words. 😊
That's why I added "slightly exaggerated" at the end. Lol.
I completely agree with your point. Thanks for sharing. ✨
It may sound crazy when I tell you that your DNA carries hell lot of information.
I also used to get frustrated when someone appreciated my work with 'Talent' until I've understood this --
People haven't seen or rarely have an idea about how much effort has been put to achieve the mastery over any work. They sometime see such beaty and are not able to imagine that how much effort it might have took, and they find themselves at loss of words. They choose the word talent. It's their Raw form of appreciation about your work. Expecting special words in appreciation is bit unfair. It's like you're expecting to listen "You're amazing" from someone who doesn't know english. Does someone saying "Tum toh kalakar ho" any less of an appreciation?
Once my head got wrapped around this, I gladly accept any form of appreciation towards my work.