Iraj Shahbazi Lecture: “Happiness and Cultivating Your Talents”

Every human being has special talents and capabilities, and to live happily, one must cultivate one's talents and capabilities. A very significant problem here is the incorrect beliefs of parents and the flawed educational system, which, instead of guiding and directing individuals on the right path of their talents and capabilities, gradually distances them from their true selves. This, in turn, leads to an identity crisis and alienation, and provides the grounds for their sorrow and suffering. There is no doubt that if a person is not in their rightful place, they will have no share of happiness.

A psychologist named Marcia examined the various states or options facing identity, depending on how the environment encounters it. In his view, human identity faces four situations when confronting the environment:

1) Not discovering one's talent Adolescents who, for any reason, do not discover their talent, or whose environment does not provide the necessary conditions for the emergence of talent, are incapable of establishing an independent identity for themselves and face an identity crisis. Such individuals have difficulty gaining independence from their parents and defining and establishing their own identity.

2) The premature, incomplete state This group, instead of discovering and cultivating their talents, has accepted the values, beliefs, and norms of the environment and family and made them the basis of their identity, living according to the expectations of family and society. Such individuals are often rigid, inflexible, imitative, and alienated; because they consider the values and beliefs of others as the foundation of their identity and guard it.

3) The state of ambiguity (identity diffusion) This group of individuals has neither discovered and cultivated their talents nor accepted and internalized the beliefs, values, and norms of the environment and family; therefore, they have no commitment to themselves or society and remain somewhat undefined and neutral. Individuals of this kind are most at risk and vulnerable; because they have no attachment or commitment to anything and are severely incapable of connecting with others; thus, it can be said that such individuals lack a central core of identity and are, in fact, devoid of individuality.

4) Discovering and cultivating one's talents This group of individuals has found their true talents, or is on the path to finding them. They have achieved an identity full of meaning; therefore, this group is considered the most balanced, happiest, and psychologically safest individuals. Such people have managed to create balance and equilibrium between their talents and the demands of society, and have obtained a unique identity and a healthy, true image of themselves (The Psychology of Happiness, by Samuel S. Franklin, pp. 74-76).

As you can see, someone who finds their talent and organizes their life accordingly lives in ultimate safety and happiness. Living according to one's talent causes a person to 1) work with love and enjoy their work, 2) be in the present moment and be freed from mental distraction, 3) become immersed in work and experience selflessness and unawareness, 4) find life meaningful, 5) stop comparing themselves to others, 6) feel useful, and all of these provide the grounds for the person's contentment and satisfaction.

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Audio of the lecture "Happiness and Cultivating Your Talents"

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Lecture by Iraj Shahbazi

Subject: Happiness and Cultivating Your Talents

Location: Alimoradian Cultural Institute

Time: September 2017

Lecture duration: Eighteen minutes

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