If IMing is a skill...

[RT Wolf]

Then this 4 step model of learning applies:

1. Unconscious Incompetence: You don’t know that you don’t know. Say you’re a child and you don’t know that you don’t how to ride a bike. The thought of riding a bike hasn’t even entered your mind.

2. Conscious Incompetence: You know that you don’t know. You might have figured out that you want to ride a bike but you don’t quite know how to go about doing it.

3. Conscious Competence: You can do it but you have to have conscious attention on it. You can ride a bike, but it requires all your concentration to make sure you are balanced, pedaling at the right speed, making sure the handle bars are straight, and so forth.

4. Unconscious Competence: You’re so good that it’s entirely automatic. How many of you need to focus on riding a bike now? You just do it. Unfortunately, if someone asked you to help with riding a bike, you couldn’t put it into words. This is one of the reasons if you want to learn something from someone else, not only does the other person have to be good at what you want to learn about–they have to be a good explainer, too. This is one of the reasons there are teachers who just can’t understand how you can’t understand what they’re trying to teach you.

How would you apply this model to learning how to drive? It’ll help you integrate this model into your mind if you do.

Mind-Manual » 4 Stages of How You Learn!

A lot of us are at number 3, which is where we only occasionally get results and it sometimes works. The difference between conscious competance and unconscious competance (3 and 4) is a quantum leap. Ie, one day it all just clicks.

Conscious competance is the stage of the most frustration. Its easiest to give up there, too. As you try to get the pieces of the puzzle together, it takes time and practice and its easy to start blaming things. My solution is to forgive. Forgive others, forgive everything and especially forgive myself, and therefore hold no hurt or anger or frustration.

Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew and get super disappointed when it doesn't come to pass. That's ok, the key is to forgive yourself and allow yourself to be who you are and recognize that you're doing the best you can in this present moment. Not somebody else's best, not a "perfect" best, but just the best you can do in this present moment.

Another thing is that when you're learning something new, such as riding a bike, you don't set a goal to complete 10 miles on a hiking trail immediately and get to it. You take it one step at a time. First you learn to pedal a little bit without falling, then a little bit more, then you start to steer with th handle bars, and then you learn that to stop from falling you actually have to go FAST which is scary. My point is this: Be careful what you wish for. Go from little things that you don't have much resistance to and its easy to detach from to higher things. Being able to detach is like a skill, too, and it'll get easier to detach from bigger and more important things once you've figured out how to detach from littler, less important things. I've found the Power of Now to be very helpful for this, personally. I've also found reminding myself that it all doesn't matter that much in the larger context of things. Me getting a parking spot this day doesn't matter much when I'm looking at centuries at a time, but it'd be nice to get one now.

I know the potential power of IM to create everything you want and/or need, but its important not to tax yourself overly much at the beginning. Take it at a pace that's good for you. And remember to forgive yourself.

Forgiveness, I've found, also softens your heart and creates allowing.

Hope this helps. Hang in there.

[Jennihul]

AWESOME post. Thanks, RT Wolf...

Jennifer

[jeff3]

great insight,

when I think of this concept I always remember learning to drive a 'standard transmission' car and how awkward and even dangerous I was until I quit 'thinking' about every move. I believe you are certainly right that we tend to give up or get stuck at #3 because we feel as if it will always be that difficult. It makes sense that , like riding a bike, you can speed up the process by practicing more often and gradually working up to bigger things. I have been in the trap of 'shooting for the moon" myself and know the frustration. thanks

[petewilliams]

Great post, it's interesting to see those 4 steps laid out. I think it's easy to forget that IM is a skill like any other, and it will take some time to master.

Pete