Am I a Natural at Something?

I have pondered this question many times. Before I answer it, I’d like to give my opinion on the definition of a “natural.” To me, being a natural is simply mastering whatever you do. Whether it is soccer, playing a violin, etc.  , naturals make whatever they do look like a piece of cake.  Now I might be going to the extreme side here, but let’s face it, some people are just a lot more gifted than others. No matter how hard you try and practice, there is always someone who can learn whatever you are doing a lot easier than you can. For example, I’m a pretty athletic person, but one sport I cannot play is golf. Yet I know several people who never played a sport in their life go out and play one game of golf and they do really good.  You also have to consider something else; people become a natural at different times in their career.  Let’s go back to the Michael Jordan example.  It’s pretty safe to say that MJ was a natural at basketball. But like I said in my previous post, he was cut from his junior high school basketball team. Nobody thought he would become the greatest player to ever walk on a basketball court. He didn’t become a standout until later in high school. However, people also become naturals at a very early age.  Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi arrived at FC Barcelona’s youth development program at the age of thirteen. That’s right. Thirteen. Can you imagine being a boy and being at one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world? 

            Now back to the original question.  Am I a natural at something? I think so. I started playing soccer at the age of four. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to sit here and say that I was this amazing player like Lionel Messi, because I definitely was not.  However, I was somewhat of a standout in my soccer playing days.  I don’t know what it was, but everything about soccer just made sense. There was never a moment when I felt like “What the heck am I supposed to be doing?” The feel of a ball at my feet just seemed natural (no pun intended) and it just felt right being out on a pitch.  It always felt like people were watching me to learn how to do something. So yes, I think I was a natural (and it feels pretty cool too).