Often overlooked in our lives is the potential for wanting to do something well that is not in parallel with what we are intrinsically good at doing. The trouble here affects so many people who, for example, might be an incredibly talented gymnast but feel whole-heartedly like they want to be a full-time litigation attorney. What you end up with is unfortunately neither one of them. While that person is busy ignoring their natural talent as a gymnast, they also suck at being a trial lawyer.

There really isn't much of a way around this. Some people do find a way to practice, practice, practice and overcome weaknesses they may have in a subject area they aren't naturally talented in but ultimately, that is the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps this is why parents and teachers tell every child that "everyone is good at something." Ultimately, that's true, provided that person wants to do the very thing they are already decent at doing.

This phenomenon is important to recognize for personal development reasons as it means that the very thing you might be incredibly good at might not necessarily be the thing you want to spend the rest of your life doing. For example. someone who is amazingly great at sales might not be a great a product manager no matter how many random odds and ends hours they put in to try to grow into a great product manager. While some of these folks may become great product managers, most will fail. Given that statistic, perhaps this might convince some people to re-think and re-evaluate switching careers just because they're not liking it in that moment. I'm not suggesting people merely settle but I am suggesting people ask themselves, deeply, what it is they really want to be doing while considering their existing, amazing talents to society in an area they may not have a very current interest in.