Everyone has a talent. What's yours?

Everyone has a talent, something they are particularly gifted at or really enjoy.

Last week was LP's 7th birthday and I asked my sister to make him a cake. I'd seen photos of some of the cakes she'd made and thought I'd give her a challenge. LP has just got into Star Wars and I thought it would be a great idea to have a Death Star cake. To be honest I had no idea how she would do it, there is no way I could do something like that. But when I went to pick up the cake and saw what she'd achieved I was stunned.

Death Star (Star Wars) cake

My sister's talent is definitely making cakes.

I was discussing my sister's talent with my mum a few days ago and she happened to say that everyone has a talent. Funnily enough though she couldn't think what her own talent was. Immediately I told her it was cooking, she is an amazing cook and I love nothing more than visiting on a Sunday so that I can eat her Sunday lunch. I wish we lived closer, if we did Sunday would be the day I visited every week!

While discussing talents my mum said that my talent is writing. Obviously being a writer kind of helps with that but I'd never considered writing my talent. I just thought it was something I did. When I really think about it though I've always written. Even Sionice mentioned it a while back when we were talking about collaborating on a blog post!

I know most writers say this, and I don't know if it's true or not, but in my case I have always preferred the written word. I remember writing short stories when I was at school, I kept a diary (the 'olden day' version of a blog I suppose), I even wrote stories in my own time. 

But I never thought of it as my 'talent'.

the words "I am a writer" written on a piece of paper.


It got me thinking that perhaps this is the case for all talented people, they don't realise just how talented they are?

I don't know about you but I'm terrible at accepting compliments about my writing. I can only see the things I missed out, or the things I didn't get quite right. Reading my own writing makes me cringe. And yet people like it... Weird.

I bet you have a talent too.


There is something that you do, it might be cooking like my mum, it could be writing, but that thing is your talent. 

You may not consider yourself talented.
You may not even know what your talent is.
But believe me, you are talented.

Usually your talent is something you do every day, it's the thing you just do without thinking, it has become such a part of you that you don't realise how good you are. When you practice something every day you inevitably get better at it and after a while that thing becomes a talent.

People will notice and start to tell you you're good, and if you're anything like me you dismiss it. Although you accept their words you think they're just being polite and you don't actually have any talent. 

It's time to own your talent.

Speak out and tell people you're good at something. Allow friends and family to compliment you, AND accept the compliment. 

Don't dismiss all the good comments as people being 'nice', they've noticed you're good at something and want to tell you. 

See what they see.