10 Things that cannot be taught

Jennie Bishop is a senior conference manager at IIR Middle East.

Art of painting To be able to paint like some of the greats – Monet, Rembrandt, Van Gogh – is a true skill that you are born with and cannot be taught.

Rolling your tongue An old school party trick that children (and the big kids in us adults too) are either able to do with complete ease and confidence or you just look hopelessly ridiculous whilst trying to pull it off.

Restraint If willpower could be taught we would all be a lot richer as we would not be tempted to buy all the latest gadgets, clothes and shoes that we don't really actually need.

Understanding your pet Especially when your cat is continually meowing and prodding you with its claw repeatedly at 4am every morning for no apparent reason.

To sing well Just because you know all the words and the basic tune of a song when taking part in karaoke doesn't make you a Pavarotti.

To be happy Happiness as an emotion cannot be purely taught, but you can however learn more about the things that will actually evoke the emotion in you.

The luck factor In the words of Kylie Minogue, I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky... Luck cannot be taught. Although some would argue it is all down to being in the right place at the right time, and that you create your own luck.

Motivation and drive It's down to each individual to really make things happen for themselves and become the next Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Richard Branson, Jackie Stewart, Noel Gallagher, or Erin Brockovich (who coincidentally all had/have dyslexia or other learning difficulties).

Rhythm Spending money on ballroom lessons will not make you a Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers, if you haven't got rhythm.

Common sense I have seen this happen a million times,
but for some reason people seem to insist on placing their palm or fingers on a hot kettle to check if the water is hot.

– As told to Hina Navin, a Dubai-based freelance writer