How To Deal With People Who Dismiss Your Talent

You know you are gifted. Your soul elevates to a pure haven when you use your talent, be it music, dance, art, cooking, writing, sports, or whatever talent you possess. For those few moments you know who you are, you have no doubts about your identity, or where you belong. You just know that there is nothing in the world that can make you feel more in harmony and in peace. You are gifted, but people that surround you don’t encourage you, even if they do admit that you are talented, but they see it as nothing more than a hobby, something to do when you have nothing better to do; they just don’t get it.

Don’t take everything personally or literally.

Words will come and go, there is no reason why they should stick in your mind and pull you back. Sometimes people phrase things in a wrong way, or they say things and forget about them, so why should you remember them? Let it go and move forward.

Pity their lack of talent.

They might not get it, they might be talentless. Ofcourse in reality everyone is actually talented and passionate in something, but they might have never discovered and feel fine living a passionless life.

Don’t follow their footsteps.

They might even be talented themselves but someone managed to ruin them, break their passion, and dismissed it as nothing more than a hobby. Unconsciously or consciously they feel that you have to follow the same path, after all, why would you get to use your talent and do what you are really passionate about when they never got that chance? Don’t do the same mistake they did, keep holding on, don’t let your talent fade away. 

Take advice.

Just because they disagree with you doesn’t mean you should dismiss everything they say without giving it a thought or two. Behind the negativity there might be very useful advise, lessons they learned, things that can help you use your talent more wisely and efficiently, and eventually help you succeed in your life. Keep an open mind.

Change their minds.

If they are your parents or someone close to you, if they see you happy and succeeding they will be happy for you and will end up changing their minds and supporting you. Thinking out of the box isn’t easy for everyone, so be patient and help them realize that it is actually ok, and that you will be fine.

Find a group that supports your talent.

No matter how loved and cherished you are, you still need a group that thinks the same way as you do. You need them to inspire you, encourage you, and help you break out of the tight-fitted box that traps our minds ever so often. Find a support group that challenge you to develop your talent and encourages you to pursue your passion.

Evaluate your talent.

Are you really talented? Are you sure this is what you want to do? Are you good at it? Can you change something about it to better succeed at it? You have to ask yourself those questions, and get evaluated from different professionals. Should you give up if everyone thinks you lack talent? Not really, thats actually how the world changes. So many masters were dismissed as untalented and were unappreciated by the masses. If this is really what you love to do then do it, be innovative, and let people learn to love what you do.