Teachability

A few months back , I had read a book "Talent is Never Enough" by John C. Maxwell. The author says that being talented is a wonderful thing for an individual but not necessarily the only criteria for being successful . Talent must be complemeted by a host of other qualities like, diligence, perseverance, hunger to learn (Teachability), etc.One of these qualities, Teachability, caught my attention and after pondering over it, I wrote down my thoughts(which came in form of an article)....I am sharing my thoughts here......

Let's begin with what dictionary says about Teachability.............

Teachability n. of Teachable
Teachable adj. Able and willing to learn


We all know about Leoranado da Vinci , yes, the guy of "The da Vinci Code " . Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Polymath, being a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer ( is anything left that he wasn't, I doubt it !). Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the renaissance man, a man whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.

Do you know the secret behind this great man’s innumerable achievements in equal number of diverse fields ? It was – “unquenchable curiosity” or the hunger to learn more and more… In words of da Vinci himself , “ Iron rusts from disuse;stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen;even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind”.In other words, to keep our mind vigorous, it must not stagnate. We must keep our mind active . How do we achieve that? By keeping our mind open to new ideas. This willingness to keep our mind open to new ideas , new experiences is what we call teachability.Thus, Teachability pertains more to attitude than competence or mental ability.

Teachability is the quality that makes one continually strive to grow, learn and improvise. There has to be a desire to learn, adapt and grow. Striving for excellence brings success. Having an agile mind expands your knowledge and helps in making informed decisions. Hunger to learn is what separates an able mind from an agile one. We complain most of the time that this topic is not interesting or this is not useful. Nothing is interesting if we are not interested. And gaining knowledge in diverse areas which may not be of immediate use , is not a waste. It expands our horizon, challenges us to learn new things, conquer new peaks and adapt the knowledge gained, to suit our needs.

Most of us feel that our learning ends with the degrees we have earned or when we have got a job . But learning is not an event. Getting a degree is an event but learning is a continuous process ; it’s the way of working. Learning is meant to be a lifelong pursuit.

Many talented people believe that there’s nothing left for them to learn. They are content after achieving a certain measure of success.This contentment leads to complacency . Complacency leads to inaction of mind. As much talented as anyone can be, there’s always scope to learn more, diversify the talent, enhance it, redefine it and take it to a new level.

Most often , pride comes into the way of talented individuals’ teachability. Their innate talent leads them to an easy success , leading them to believe that they have learnt all there is to learn. But there are always new things to be learnt and talent to be expanded.Pride closes our mind to new ideas and feedback. It prevents us from admitting mistakes and making needed changes.

So first thing to inculcate teachability and expand your talent in the process is to recognize our pride, and understand its detrimental effects on our progress. We must get out of our comfort zones and stretch ourselves towards an extra mile, one more goal to achieve. Let’s say …Ye dil maange more !!!!!!!!!!

We must remember these memorable lines by Robert Frost


“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.”