Prodigies and perseverance
The Psychology Today website has an interesting article on why child prodigies tend not to achieve greatness as adults. There are several aspects of the prodigy experience that are examined, but the one that caught my eye is that perseverance is a better indicator for success than natural talent. This is something I have observed time and again among people I know. I’ve seen amazing gifts languish because the person who has them has never learned how to work hard. This is something I fear for my kids. They are so smart, school comes easily to them. They skip along, casually absorbing things that their peers have to struggle for. But when they hit something that they don’t absorb as naturally as breathing, they stop cold. Both German and Clarinet did this to Kiki. Now she is having to learn to work hard with no guarantee of success. It is hard for me to stand by and watch her struggle when I know I could end it, but I must do it. I must do the same for all my kids when they hit their personal roadblocks. The one who has the most advantage here is Link. He is just as smart as the others, but he has some academic weaknesses that he must struggle against. Because he struggles now and learns how to keep going, he is less likely to be stopped cold later.
It makes me think of a scripture found in The Book of Mormon:
Ether 12:27
“I give unto men weaknesses that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humbleth themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”
Sometimes the things we consider our greatest weaknesses become our greatest strengths simply because we have to work so hard at them.