Let Me Rephrase That…

It’s a curse and a nice trait to have but I’m always striving to be better than I am…at anything. I’m not a particularly competitive person but I’m very competitive with myself…which sounds strange. I used to shoot in competitions and, whilst I always wanted to win, it wasn’t my driving force. In those situations I blocked out everyone else and tried to shoot better than I thought I could, or at least as best I could – and because I set high standards I was never satisfied unless I had a 10/10 clear on a stand. I figured, if I missed one, I could’ve done better (which is true, I could’ve hit it). I never really realised what was going on at these competitions until after one of them – which I felt I hadn’t done particularly well at – my instructor told me I’d beaten one of the UK’s top sporting shots on a couple of the stands. It made me realise that sometimes striving for improvement can produce results you didn’t think possible.

I suppose there is always room for improvement, especially in shooting, even if you do get a perfect 100. I’d think about my shoots for weeks after and I’d remember every bird throughout the day (in this instance, bird means clay, don’t send me hate mail for shooting birds!). Even on stands where I’d had 10/10 I’d remember there were close calls and that perhaps a shot wasn’t centre mass or a clean break. Perhaps my technique could’ve been improved or my shot selection?

Thinking about this recently lead me down another thought path. Talents. I’ve always been under the impression that no matter how good I was at something there was always someone better than me out there. I think that’s what keeps me wanting to do better. Whilst it would be nice to be the best in the world at something I didn’t think my talent stretched that far – although, in fairness I was cut down by illness when I was getting into my stride, which was incredibly frustrating! – I suppose I was pretty good but because I wasn’t the best at it (and may never be) there’s room for improvement. Even if I was the best at it, I’d still think there was room for improvement.

I’m pretty sure that everyone is talented at something. I’m convinced we all have a natural ability to do something really well. Whether we ever find it, I don’t know. Perhaps this natural talent lays dormant and unused in people? An un-tapped mine of goodness.

I often wonder if I have any real talents. Shooting is something I’m good at, but naturally talented? Perhaps. Best in the world? It’s not impossible. Improbable, maybe, but not impossible. Do I have something else I’m even better at though? Something I’ve not discovered?

What are you talented at?