Natural gift skill you wish you had, that you have already

[shootingstar]

I've always envied people who are musically inclined. To me reading music, thinking musically, is like a foreign language to me. An exceptionally gifted musician, singer leaves a wonderful footprint behind long after they are gone.

On the other side, I feel immensely blessed to naturally want to write and do art. It's been a part of me ever since I was a young teen. Not fully developed but that's ok. I do what I can, when I want to.

(And no I wouldn't be putting cycling in this same bag. Not for myself. I enjoy cycling but it doesn't express the true essence of "me". Not really.)

[IBrakeforPastry]

Smooth and articulate speaking. I can get stuck in the middle of a sentence, looking for the right word, the way to explain or describe something. I read a lot, I'm pretty intelligent, but my spoken vocabulary doesn't reflect that. It's frustrating.

[missjean]

Oh, I would love to be able to sing, but I can't carry a tune in a bucket.
But, I can make or fix pretty much anything I set my mind to.

IBrakeforPastry - that is something that happens to me too. The word I need just disappears from my brain. It will have been there, just waiting it's turn, then when I need it, it's gone - then I'm left saying things like, you know, that round thing you make soup in.

[goldfinch]

I wish I had more athletic ability. When I was a child I was the clumsiest child. I could never catch a ball. I maybe hit a softball twice in my life. Bowling results in gutter balls. I can't make a basket if throwing a basket ball. I was always the last to finish a running race. Second to last last (after an extremely fat girl) picked for sports teams in school. My entire family was this way. One of my sibs is autistic and another has Asperger's Syndrome. Lack of coordination are markers for these conditions. I was tested many years ago and the test found that I had problems with fine and gross motor functioning.

I gave up trying the physical stuff as all I got was failure.

Then in my late 50s I picked up biking. I suck but I love to ride and despite my clumsiness I don't seem to have a balance problem. I do have to be careful about attention though and can easily make mistakes like pulling out in front of traffic that I just don't seem to notice.

This has been on my mind because I am going to post a thread about how to improve my biking skills.

I really have little to complain about though because I had plenty of other skills that served me well through the years.

[Crankin]

Well, I would like some mechanical ability and like Goldfinch, some fine motor skills and better spatial relations. These are all connected, and they pretty much stopped me from doing a lot of things. I also cannot catch or hit a ball, and bowling, forget it. I don't care about that now, though, rather how these lack of skills have affected my riding. I've come a long way, but really I don't think there will be much more improvement.
I can read and write well, speak pretty well, and I'm super organized. I have absolutely no musical or artistic talent, though, and it still amazes me one of my kids is a fairly accomplished musician.

[Swan]

I wish I could catch and aim! Whether I'm tossing a breakfast bar at my mum, practicing archery, or playing a video game, I can't seem to aim at all! I've been trying to work on that, though, and can hit a bulls' eye 2-4/10 times now... It may have something to do with my horrid depth perception, but maybe one day I'll get a real hang on it.

Other than that and running (bad knees and ankles, oh gosh), I'm going to allow myself to feel proud that I'm fairly well ridiculously skilled in just about everything else I've ever tried!

[zoom-zoom]

I wish I had more athletic ability. When I was a child I was the clumsiest child. I could never catch a ball. I maybe hit a softball twice in my life. Bowling results in gutter balls. I can't make a basket if throwing a basket ball. I was always the last to finish a running race. Second to last last (after an extremely fat girl) picked for sports teams in school. My entire family was this way. One of my sibs is autistic and another has Asperger's Syndrome. Lack of coordination are markers for these conditions. I was tested many years ago and the test found that I had problems with fine and gross motor functioning.

I gave up trying the physical stuff as all I got was failure.

Then in my late 50s I picked up biking. I suck but I love to ride and despite my clumsiness I don't seem to have a balance problem. I do have to be careful about attention though and can easily make mistakes like pulling out in front of traffic that I just don't seem to notice.

It's interesting that you bring this up...I am not particularly graceful or coordinated and have no less than 3 confirmed blood relatives on the spectrum (my son, my nephew, and my brother). My son does quite well on the bike, in spite of his Asperger's. I think it helps that he also has ADHD and when he's on minimal meds he has far less fear/caution. It's hesitation that gets people in trouble when they ride off-road (I have a broken wrist to show for it).

My desired skill...the ability to read music. I have a VERY good ear for picking up melodies and harmonies and recalling them for years afterwards and a decent voice, but the inability to sight-read was a deal-breaker when I auditioned for a college concert choir.