From Struggle to Skill: Lessons in Perseverance

In the journey of life, perseverance is the first virtue we must cultivate. My personal experience with learning calligraphy taught me this valuable lesson.

In my youth, I tried repeatedly to master the art of calligraphy but always felt like I failed. However, recently, I started copying characters every day without skipping a beat, and the results have truly surprised me. Month after month passed, and without me noticing, significant progress appeared.

From this, I realized an important truth:

Regardless of age or the difficulty of the task, if we continue to do it diligently, the results will eventually come.
It’s like planting a tree and caring for it patiently—day by day, it will grow into something we could not see at first.

Many people focus too much on talent. They think if they lack talent, any effort is futile. It’s true that everyone has their own ceilings. But not having talent doesn’t mean we can’t produce meaningful work.

By building good habits and staying consistent, we will eventually see the fruits of our labor.

How to Know If You Are Talented in Something?

There are three simple signs that can help us recognize if we have a talent in a particular area:

1. An unstoppable inner drive.
   If you feel compelled to do something, even when everyone around you doubts or opposes you, and you keep doing it anyway—that is the first sign.

2. Joy and personal fulfillment.
   When you do it, you feel happy. And after completing it, you experience a deep sense of satisfaction, even if no one praises you.

3. Your work has its own style, recognized by others.
   When your work has a unique signature and people are willing to pay for it, it shows that your work carries value others can feel.

Closing

In the end, perseverance and good habits will lead us to results, even if we feel untalented. And true talent is often revealed through a combination of inner drive, joy from within, and external recognition.