The Hierarchy of Competence
Unconscious Competence...Right Intuition
Conscious Competence...Right Analysis
Conscious Incompetence...Wrong Analysis
Unconscious Incompetence….Wrong Intuition

In psychology, the four stages of competence, or the “conscious competence” learning model, relates to the psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence (Wikipedia).  

Stage One:  Unconscious Incompetence: the individual doesn’t understand how to perform a specific skill, and is unaware of this deficit.    The person may not appreciate the importance of attaining a necessary skill. Recognition of this incompetence, and creating a vision to build this skill is instrumental to move into the next stage.  

If you don’t have teachers to show you how to make this transition, get out there and find a person, class, experience, exposure in the form of:
                                  A    Therapist                                      Yoga Instructor                                     Friend
                Mentor     Family Member.        Clergy Member               Self-Teaching Method          Community-Based Education    

To create momentum, and to get UNSTUCK wherever you are in your mind presently, consider what path you are going on, and where you’re heading…..

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Stage Two: Conscious Incompetence:  Though the person lacks experience with a particular skill, the person is now ready to acknowledge the deficit.   This is where insight takes place.

The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.  

Internationally famous musical entertainer, Pitbull, sums up this idea by saying, "There's no losing, only learning.  There's no failure, only opportunities.  And there's no problems, only solutions."

                                                                    Words to meditate on during this stage: 

                Unconditional Positive Regard of the Self....Acceptance......Forgiveness.... Insightfulness....Open to Feedback from Others.....Patience 

                   Passion.......Purpose...Being Worthy.....Creating a Vision.........Imagination......Ready for Change....Master of Your Skill

You may be done with school, but you’re never done learning. Your body may be done growing, but your mind and soul are in constant evolution. 

Your need for change has to be stronger than the need to stay the same.  This essential need is based on having a vision of a brighter future. Vision comes from knowing oneself, and developing one’s accurate definition of self-concept or identity.  It’s never too late! Desire comes from self-love, not self-doubt.  Examine who is the special someone or something your fighting for:  preservation of the self...protection of the family...planning for a better future.

Listening to the echoes of the “naysayers derogatory messages that you can’t. It becomes a “word curse” that gets stuck in your head. You let shame take over, and it blocks your authenticity.  Transform and push through the barriers in spite of what the “haters” want you to believe about yourself.  It’s all an illusion to make you feel weaker so they can feel stronger.

YOU ARE STRONG. You can push through resistance no matter where you are in your life.

Many highly successful people would report that there were “naysayers” in their past that said, “you’ll never be anything”.  
The best revenge to the haters is to let go of these misconceptions, and not need to prove it to them, or to anyone else except yourself!!  Moving on and not giving the haters any power is the healing antidote to conscious incompetence.  

Are you a person of faith?  Have you lost your way?  How do you find your way back to  faith?  Do you feel "burned out"?

There’s no such thing as burnout, according to Ken Coleman, who's a successful businessman, author, and host of The Ken Coleman Show.  Ken Colman calls this condition, “Build Up.”    We build up layers of unresolved stress, unhealed emotional wounding from our past, anxieties about the future, and misconceptions of our own innate capabilities.  Burnout happens when there is no more air to breathe on this earth.   As long as you breathe, you still got it!!

You may have  just been weighed down by life's inevitable challenges:  regret from past mistakes; harbored resentments which lead to sustained levels of anger;  black and white thinking that the past let downs are a sure predictor of more disappointment to come....just a few examples many can relate to whether is applies to the workplace and in the home.   

With strength, fearlessness and determination, investigate where those barriers have come from in your past, and courageously remove them. We think barriers create these “walls of safety” that keep the haters from coming back to hurt us. But if they are still in your head, they are trespassing onto private property and your barriers are not protecting you at all.  The walls are merely keeping out the right people in your life.  

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Stage Three:  Conscious Competence:   The person now is able to demonstrate knowledge of a recently obtained a specific skil  However,  demonstrating this skill or knowledge requires clear concentration.  It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.  

                                                                      Words to Ponder On:

*Training   *Hard Work   *Muscle Memory    *Practice       *Automatic     *Instinctive     *Repetition    *Dedication   *Consistency

You must be consciously aware to be a deliberate creator according to Esther and Jerry Hicks in their book, “Ask and it is Given”, "It is when we are consciously aware that we can access emotions such as the ability to notice when negative self-defeating thoughts disrupt your clarity to feel optimistic.  BE DELIBERATE to change the direction of your thoughts to a state that makes you feel better.  Try to not even entertain the cyclical negative thoughts that keep in your “your own way.”  Get OUT of your own way by deliberately guilding you thoughts to good-feeling directions.

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Stage Four:  Unconscious Competence:
The individual has had so much practice with a skill that is has become “second nature” and can be performed easily.  As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach this skill to others depending on the quality and effectiveness of the learning process.  

The legendary martial artist, and Hong Kong-American actor,  Bruce Lee,  fully understood unconscious competence.  His famous quote says, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.  

Michelle Obama, in her book, “Becoming”, invites her readers to imagine themselves to become anything that they want to envision themselves to be such as being:   *My Best Self *Authentic *Aware *Present *Intentional *Passionate *Curious *Mindful *Decisive *Proud *Empathic *Strong

Now.... try to say these words out loud to yourself.  Pick one of these words, or make up your own.  Cleave to it, and make it your mantra for life.

If there’s one takeaway from reading the stages of competency, I hope you remember that 

YOU MATTER!!!!