There is No Such Thing as Natural Talent
And That Makes Some People Angry
Anger is Caused by an Unmet Need
If you want to start a heated argument then one sure-fire way to do it is to utter the statement “there is no such thing as natural talent.” It seems fairly benign. Yet so many people vehemently disagree with it. To the point of getting angry with you for saying it.
As the great Marshall Rosenberg says in his book Non-Violent Communication, “Anger is just a tragic expression of an unmet need.”
So what is the unmet need when it comes to the anger expressed over the statement “there is no such thing as natural talents”?
Where are They on Maslow’s Hierarchy?
When discussing needs, a useful place is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For the people who disagree with the statement above, where are they on Maslow’s hierarchy?
For the most part, people in developed countries have the bottom two levels met (physiological and safety). If they’re lucky they also have some form of love and belonging (the third level) in their life.
That leaves us with the top two levels — self-esteem and self-actualization. Self-actualization is the highest level, and most difficult to achieve.
