Extraordinary Lives and Difficult Goals:
Dr. Moon shares her expertise on personal talent development

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT (n): The exceptional ability to select difficult goals that fit with your interests, abilities, values, and contexts plus achieve the difficult goals you set in all the areas of life that are meaningful to you.

“Children who discover their Personal Talent lead extraordinary lives and accomplish difficult goals.” Sidney Moon, professor at Purdue University's Gifted Education Resource Institute, spoke these words during her keynote address, “Personal Talent Development: What Can Parents Do?” at the Opportunities for the Future conference given by the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University on June 26th, 2004. She addressed a group of enthusiastic parents to describe the important role they play in developing their children's exceptional ability to select difficult goals that fit with their interests, abilities, values, and contexts.

Dr. Moon's interest in the concept of Personal Talent began when she read the book Descarte's Error, an examination of the relationship between gifted minds and the difficulty they had making relationships and following through on goals. After reading that book, Moon began to seek out more research on the psychology of talent development and started her own family counseling practice where she worked with many socially detached gifted children.

“The more choices, the stronger the personal talent.” Dr. Moon emphasized the importance of choices in both a child's academic and personal life. She proffered the idea that society harms gifted children by focusing on their academic abilities while ignoring their interests and values. This results in a child with very few choices who at the same time neglects his/her own desires and wishes. According to Dr. Moon, developing Personal Talent should precede an attempt to develop specific academic abilities because it facilitates self-actualization, self-fulfillment, the ability to balance multiple competing priorities, and most importantly, happiness. Furthermore, she found that Personal Talent not only allows for more achievement in academics, sports and art, but also contributes to a child's well-being, life satisfaction, and mental and physical health. By nurturing their Personal Talent, gifted students can make better choices, harness their goals, and make them happen. To round out this portion of the presentation Moon expressed her belief that all children have potential, and “Personal Talent is the mediator between potential and future life outcomes”.

The parents in the audience were then introduced to three areas of knowledge that lead to Personal Talent:

1. Develop Self Knowledge
The first step parents can take is to help their child develop knowledge about self. This step emphasizes recognizing values, personal strengths and weaknesses, and personal history. Moon introduced two methods to promote self-knowledge: indirect and direct. “Indirect” refers to intrapersonal intelligence combined with experience. This involves either daily experiences and extracurricular activities or vicarious experiences plus reflection, which may include books, media such as films, and travel. For parents to promote self-knowledge in an indirect way, they should encourage reflection at home and guide their child to incorporate his or her experiences into self-knowledge.
The second approach to self-knowledge is the “direct” method, which focuses on self and psychological assessments. Performing self assessments can be turned into a family activity where members can find out what they share in common, learn to respect differences, and promote family well-being. A psychological assessment, or a personality inventory survey, can also help a child better grasp their current interests and talents.

2. Develop Environmental Knowledge
Parents can also help promote knowledge of the environment, another key factor in developing Personal Talent. Dr. Moon emphasized that “lives are constructed in context” and understanding one's environment is key for a young mind. The indirect method of studying environment focuses on the discovery and study of fiction, drama, biographies, and documentaries. The direct method focuses on the hands-on experiences of observation and travel. By studying the environment around them, children learn practical intelligence and culture and create deeper connections with the world around them.

3. Develop Psychological Knowledge
Psychological knowledge is the final category of knowledge that promotes Personal Talent. It includes self-efficacy, hardiness, and optimism. Dr. Moon presented the idea of “flow,” defined as “being in the zone.” To experience flow, a child must encounter a challenging activity that: (a) requires skill that matches the current skill level of the child; (b) presents clear goals; and (c) gives immediate feedback. Children who are given the opportunity to experience flow report enjoyment, a desire to repeat the activity, concentration of attention, and learning. Moon encouraged parents to present their child with situations that promote flow and to encourage their children as they navigate their way through challenging activities. Indirect methods of promoting psychological knowledge include modeling and feedback. These indirect methods involve using appropriate responses to a child's successes and failures to guide them through an activity. Coaching and/or counseling are direct approaches to psychological knowledge. With coaching, the parent teaches a construct or skill, creates opportunities for their child to practice the skill learned, and finally helps their child reflect on their progress. Most importantly, children must be free of social conditioning and allow themselves to create an unbiased view of themselves.

Not only should parents promote the three types of knowledge that lead to Personal Talent, but they must also promote the two skills that lead children to their full potential: personal decision making and self regulation.

PERSONAL DECISION MAKING

Personal decision making can be developed either directly or indirectly. The direct method may include the creation of a decision-making matrix that allows the child to generate alternatives to make the best possible decision. The indirect method may involve the creation of adaptive environments that include support, choice, and challenge.

SELF REGULATION

This skill includes goal selection and attainment processes. Parents can indirectly assist in developing their child's self-regulation by providing choices and challenges. They can directly assist their children in this area by doing time management activities, such as an estimated vs. actual time spent on homework test or creating a prioritized to do list for free time. If both personal decision-making and self-regulation are promoted by parents, then the child will be able to develop both academically and emotionally.

Dr. Moon's theory of Personal Talent defines it as a vital part of development which promotes the highest form of academic and emotional potential. A child can have a happy life today and set up success for tomorrow when, along with a little parental guidance, (s)he recognizes his/her interests and develops them. Armed with the ability, the opportunity, and self-awareness to achieve difficult, personally set goals, a child can accomplish anything, and can do it all with just a little bit of help.

Sidney M. Moon is Professor of Educational Studies and Director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University. She has contributed more than 60 books, articles, and chapters to the field of gifted education. Her most recent book is a co-edited volume called The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What Do We Know? where readers can learn more about her research on Personal Talent.