Understand your aptitude well
December 18, 2013,
Everyone seems to have each aptitude to some degree—excellent, high, mid-range or low. These aptitudes are believed to be genetic in origin, get influenced through early childhood stimulation. By the time someone reaches the age of 14, the aptitudes are roughly stable. These facts are quite known to us, but most importantly one needs to be careful in selecting the aptitude test which is valid and reliable. In addition, one needs to stick to the instruction given by the test maker, take the aptitude test diligently and understand the interpretation of the test results bit by bit to make the final career decision.
As unused aptitude creates frustration and ultimately leads to de-motivation, thus aptitude(s) should be directed into constructive channels.
Since aptitude work at the gut level, operating continuously, they cannot be turned off. Aptitudes which are high and low have an extremely strong psychological, social and even philosophical impact. Individuals with the right aptitudes/talents/knacks for a task don't get fatigued as quickly and are very less likely to get stressed by it, or for that matter, don’t get stressed at all.
You don't just do things with aptitude(s) - it does things to you. You enjoy a task as and when you use your high aptitude, thus get reinforced operating that way. You get the motivational energy; perform continuously in difficult task/situation and less likely to get burnout problems.
Almost anyone can learn to do a task or get good marks by rote, but if the gut level "knowing" is lacking, performance is inferior. Without deep level of knowing or understanding, self-confidence lessens / drops and takes away the comfort. Performing with low aptitude produces anxiety and drains the energy and it sometimes becomes impossible for the individual to get motivated and just harder to reach the peak performance.
If one insists on operating from low aptitude, they are likely to make more errors and achieve less in that area, or work a lot harder to achieve the same results. This can lead to burnout and a high level of stress. However, people with high aptitude with the same level of effort for the same task stay ahead and enjoy what they're doing and remain cost-effective on many levels.
The best scenario for any individual is to choose a career or job where certain high and low aptitude combination is a requirement. High aptitudes in an individual which are not utilized in the job causes problems. The optimum combination for any given job or task resembles a recipe - a lot of some things, moderate quantity of this, a bit of this, and none of that. Just one wrong high aptitude can make a job intolerable for a person. Low aptitudes are also important .Whether a high or low aptitude is good or bad depends on the context.
It is a favorite question of many adults to inquire why people with high caliber get into high profile jobs and then not perform well. Best institutes select the best brains and a few do wonders and major chunk become mediocre and a few remain unsuccessful. And we search the answer by blaming the entrance/selection procedure, coaching and training centers and the education system. But the reality is that it is a blessing in disguise to have four to five aptitudes as most of the task/job require them, but people who have more than five aptitudes are more susceptible to problems and employers find it difficult to accommodate them. Having a lot of strong talents is a bit like dealing with high voltage. It takes a lot more knowledge and more safety precautions to work with high voltage rather than low, otherwise it can fry you. These voltages are nothing but individual’s emotion.
It is not that easy to handle emotion of the people with high caliber. Although few people know how to handle normal emotion, the rest lose focus. Self-structuring becomes a major problem for these people leading to an inability to utilize potential and ends up as mediocre employee in a government set up or becomes a job hoppers in other work settings. It also doesn't lead to the consistent building of knowledge, expertise and reputation that is necessary for significant success in any area. Many a times they impose direct challenge to authority and the authority structure, give critical comments which are often irreverent.
Do not wait... Know your aptitude(s) by taking an aptitude test, consult a career counselor, do self structuring, enjoy your work and stay happy.