A Writer's Words - My Useless Versus Not So Useless Talents

Hocus Pocus and All That

Maureen L. Bonatch

My Useless Versus Not So Useless Talents

I’d assume that anything deemed to be odd wouldn’t be a talent with much use to anyone but the individual. Although from watching a few episodes of America’s Got Talent. It’s obvious that people believe that they have talents that I hadn’t even thought might be considered a talent.

You’ll never see me on the show since I’d have immense stage fright and because I don’t know if I have a talent that is entertaining enough for the America. Although I do have a few things that others might find useless, but I find some good use for these odd talents.

Useless Talents

There are a few things that I seem to have become quite talented at over the years and the only purpose they serve is to be detrimental. Therefore, I’ve spent some time focusing on getting rid of these talents to make room for ones that might be a little more useful.

• Making Mountains Out of Molehills - the ability to make assumptions about something that may turn out to be completely irrelevant.

• Obsessive Worrying and Rumination – side effects of this talent include loss of sleep, increased anxiety and the inability to focus on things that are actually relevant.

• Driving a One-Track Mind – the detrimental (and frustrating) effects of this talent have become apparent when one of my daughters decided she was going to drive this train (now I know what my Mom used to complain about—who knew, I always thought this was a compliment).

Not So Useless Talents

These ‘talents’ don’t necessarily serve their true purpose, but they have proven to be not as useless as I once thought.

• Psychoanalyzing Others – With experience and education in psychology and mental health, long after I’ve left the floor I’m still analyzing why people act the way they do and what makes them tick. This can be beneficial to my own mental health because it enables me to develop empathy for others. (Plus, it’s great to apply to my characters!).

• Dancing – I never did become a Solid Gold dancer, not even close! But dancing brings me joy and always improves my mood. I make opportunities to dance every day in whatever I’m doing. Because it’s impossible to be in a bad mood if you’re dancing.

• Writing – You may wonder why I’ve listed this here when it’s obvious that I’ve published books, and that I also work as a healthcare freelance writer. So obviously, this isn’t a useless talent. It’s because it’s taken way too many years of my life to embrace this talent. Much of this is because I’d often heard that you couldn’t make a career out of writing. Or that writing a book was almost an impossible dream. So, I put this dream, and this talent of mine, aside for many years because I thought it was useless, when in reality it was my best talent.

Discover Your Talent
Do you have an odd, or useless talent you’d like to share? Perhaps one of them will be the next to display their unusual talent on television!

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© 2020 Maureen L. Bonatch All Rights Reserved
Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. http://www.maureenbonatch.com/