As we learn things, we go through four stages of competence.

Unconscious incompetence - not only do you not know how to do something, but you have no idea what specifically you do not know. Or to put it another way what you don’t know you don’t know. An example of this would be driving a car. If you have never driven before, not only do you not know how to drive, but you also have no idea what driving a car is like.

Conscious incompetence - this is where you start learning and begin to appreciate what is involved in the skill you are trying to learn. In our car example this would be like your first few lessons - you work the pedals, turn the wheel, crunch the gears, look in your mirrors and so on. Watch out cyclists! It is usual to feel overwhelmed during this stage because there are so many new things going on which you have to attend to.

Conscious competence - you now have a good grasp of the skill. You are still having to think about what you are doing, but because you have had more practise you can attend to things in a more controlled and confident manner. When learning a new skill it is easy to stop at this stage and feel you have finished learning. However pursuing the fourth stage is usually worth the extra effort.

Unconscious competence - this is the final stage, the holy grail we should be aiming for in almost everything we do. You can perform the task you have learnt without having to think about each and every little movement. Going back to the car example, when you want to change gear it just happens. Your hand automatically works the gears, and your foot pumps the clutch at the right time and by the right amount - all while you carry on singing to the radio.

So there you have it. Think about something you are learning or have learned recently, and see if you can spot which stage of competence you are currently at…