Refusal of the Return.

Have you heard of the 4 stages of competency?
They are as follows:

• Unconscious incompetence
• Conscious incompetence
• Conscious competence
• Unconscious competence

Bare in mind that people can start at any of these levels, and they aren’t all necessarily one-way. For example, a child may be very gifted at something — unconsciously competent. And be put under bad tutelage. Which leads them to conscious incompetence, because they are being taught bad things. Which is a lesson that I’ve learned, to always be very conscious of who you’re learning from.

But, back to why I brought this concept up. Learning, can be a double edged sword. I have found, in my life, that moving from unconscious competence to conscious competence in various areas, has proven to be a small hurdle. And one always worth considering.

I think maybe this is hard to follow, but it’s like when you know something intimately, without shining a light on it, it is what it is to you. And then you shine a light on it, and it casts a shadow you don’t recognize, and that changes your perception of it. The feeling that it gives you.

All knowledge can be like this. Similar to the loss of your naivety, once you learn some things your perception is changed forever. Not always a bad, in fact, more often a good thing. But definitely something to know.

Go look back at the 4 levels of competence and note some key areas of your life. What level of competence are you at in those areas?

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Trust in the world. Lead by example. It’s okay to make mistakes. And always aim high.

I hope you’re staying kind out there as the weather gets colder.

As always,
stay warm.

dc