From the Desk of Keith Hafner

Four Stages of Learning.

Remember how, when you first learned to drive, you found out that there was a lot more to it than you at first imagined?  And when you were actually behind the wheel, it demanded every bit of your concentration, just to keep from crashing into something.

And yet, with some experience, you were soon able to drive, steering, shifting, watching out for other cars, tuning the radio…all at the same time, without giving it much thought.

Here’s why.  There are four stages of learning any new thing.

1. The first is Unconscious Incompetence. When you first begin to learn something, not only can’t you do it (incompetence)…but you are also unaware (unconscious) of all there is to learn about it.  At this stage, you might say, “Gee, there’s a lot more to learning this than I thought!”

2. The second stage is Conscious Incompetence. At this stage, you still can’t do the thing…but now you are aware of what you will have to learn.  Now you might say, “I can’t do it yet…but I can kind of see how it’s done.”

3. The third stage is Conscious Competence. Now, finally, you can do the thing.  However, it takes all of your attention…all of your conscious thought.  You can do the thing, but if your concentration is disrupted, or you are distracted, or lose focus, you will drop the ball, crash the car, or tie your shoes into a knot.

4. The final stage is Unconscious Competence. Now you’ve got it.  Now you are driving the car while thinking about what happened at work.  You are making your grocery list out in your mind while you are water skiing.  You are thinking up names for your new kitten while you are knitting your nephew a sweater.

Being aware of the Four Stages of Learning will make it easier to progress each time you take on a new challenge!