From Learning to Mastery
Have you ever put off starting to learn something new because of a feeling that the task is just too big? Or do you feel that because professional or skilled people seem to be able to do it so easily that you would not know where to start?
It is easy to avoid taking on a new task because of a feeling that it is too complex, that we could never reach a particular level of skill, or that we are just not talented.
However you are already engaged in a complex task right at this moment. Yes, you are reading this blog. You may or may not remember those early days at school when you tentatively began learning the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that they made and how you began to put those strange shapes and squiggles into meaningful sentences. Now you are a reading expert and there is a very simple formula that got you to the level of ability you have now. The formula for learning goes like this.
Unconscious incompetence
Conscious incompetence
Conscious competence
Unconscious competence
If I likened the first to sitting in a car with no idea how to start it or what each pedal was for and the last to driving along without having to think which gear was where or how far to turn the wheel (in other words the level of automatic ability that most regular drivers achieve) I think you can work out the steps in between. And if you can work out the steps in between then you can start to believe in your abilities to learn new skills and achievements by just starting where we all start – at the beginning.
Tags: Life Changes, Life Thoughts
