Creating a dream job based on your talent

“When it comes to finding - or rather creating - your dream job, we are often referred to our talent. Let’s think about it. What exactly is talent? For me, it is something that you naturally have. I often compare it to a plant. A certain type of plant grows in a certain way, which can be seen as the ‘nature’ of the plant. It takes no effort to grow the way it grows. It does not suddenly grow cars instead of leaves.

The same applies to talent. You have it, and often show it without even realising it. However, our brain (the big difference between plants and us) is excellent at degrading, or completely suppressing, talent. This makes us (unknowingly) not recognise, or want to recognise our talent.

That is not surprising, because we have been taught from an early age which talent is supposedly valuable to our system and which is not. I believe, however, that any talent can be of value in some way. This initially requires us to raise awareness within ourselves, which makes us dare to see, embrace and manifest our talent.

Your environment, the next point of attention, plays an important role. Is your environment willing to see, embrace and appreciate your talent? Think of the plant metaphor. It does not flourish without the right amount of light, water and food.

We can learn a lot from plants if it comes to creating a dream job based on our talent. Plants manifest their roots confidently, pop out of the soil and then show themselves to the world. With pride, their nature is shown.

We may do the same. In fact, we can do better, as there is an important difference between plants and us: we can create. A certain type of plant always grows the same type of stems and leaves, whereas we can play with and shape how we grow from our roots and thus show ourselves.

The creation of your dream job based on your talents starts with playing. Play with the different talents and things that naturally make you happy. See how you can and want to be of value to your environment. I want to emphasise on PLAYING. Go and be free, break through borders and create from your roots. It will give you freedom, and perhaps you will realise that you do not need to look for your ideal job: it is already there, right within yourself.

A pen and a blank sheet of paper can help to create your dream job. Drawing stimulates imagination and creativity, both of which bring you closer to your roots. Your youth is an important part of those roots. Therefore, think about the following question: what did I like to do as a child?

Put your pen on the paper and return to who you naturally are. Let Twente pre-eminently be a delightful place to fuel your inspiration.”