Those readers who have spent time working with young people are likely familiar with the phrase “teachable moments.” And those who have heard the term probably embrace the idea that some of life’s greatest lessons are learned (and taught) because of everyday activities and conversations. However, what some people might not be cognizant of is the benefit of applying the idea of looking for and capitalizing on teachable moments to personal and professional growth.
For those readers who may be unfamiliar with “teachable moments,” they are periods of time that immediately follow an event, conversation, or experience when an individual is still thinking about what has just occurred, and therefore is able to be taught a lesson. In youth programs, teachable moments happen all the time. Scoring a winning goal is a perfect opportunity to talk about sportsmanship and being a gracious winner. Picking a paintbrush up that someone else dropped naturally lends itself to reinforcing caring as a value and the importance of helping others. The list goes on and on, but what is most important is that a knowledgeable “teacher” can respond swiftly and appropriately in the moment to convey a lesson or reinforce a desired behavior or trait.
Becoming Self Taught While capitalizing on teachable moments at work with youth is certainly important, too often we, as professionals, fail to take advantage of these in our daily lives. This is partly because of our culture and how we were raised. While we are frequently doing a reasonable job of monitoring our own choices and thoughts (both positive and less-than-ideal), we tend to react with behavioral rewards/consequences or by assigning blame or credit in less-than-honest ways. For example, when we snap at our children, many of us will recognize that it was an overreaction, but then we assign blame. Or, when we fail to follow through on a commitment, we acknowledge the failure but attribute the cause to a situation, our own personality, or someone else. When we aren’t fully honest and reflective in the moment, we are missing our own teachable moments.