“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
-Carl Jung

It is my belief that the Personal Development Industry is entirely in search of the tether connecting our Minds to the Unlimited Resource of Creation. This connection is within us all extending from the Conscious Mind and into the SubConscious Mind and beyond. My friend Simon Maxwell shared a great quote with me by T. Harv Ecker; “The Root creates the Fruit”. Is this not the simplest way of examining the unlimited potential within all of us? A potential that begins at the source of all creation within us? In studying the Conscious and Subconscious Mind I have come across many different definitions, perspectives and formulas. One of which I would like to share with you today is practical and incredibly effective.

For those of you who have yet to hear of ‘The Four Stages of Competence’, Wikipedia provides the following articulation;

“Initially described as “Four Stages for Learning Any New Skill”, the theory was developed at the Gordon Training International by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s. It has since been frequently attributed to Abraham Maslow, although the model does not appear in his major works.
The Four Stages of Learning provides a model for learning. It suggests that individuals are initially unaware of how little they know, or unconscious of their incompetence. As they recognize their incompetence, they consciously acquire a skill, then consciously use it. Eventually, the skill can be utilized without it being consciously thought through: the individual is said to have then acquired unconscious competence.
Several elements, including helping someone ‘know what they don’t know’ or recognize a blind spot, can be compared to some elements of a Johari window, although Johari deals with self-awareness, while the four stages of competence deals with learning stages.

1. Unconscious incompetence
The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognise their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.
2. Conscious incompetence
Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.
3. Conscious competence
The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.
4. Unconscious competence
The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it 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 it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.”
While the initial idea was formulated in reference to learning a new skill, Personal Development Professionals are using this powerful perspective in the broader scope of the human experience. These four stages really apply to every aspect of your life in how you think, feel and act and how you synchronize those three aspects of your being.

I cannot emphasize enough the beauty of this idea in developing yourself. Study it closely, identify where you belong on the scale and begin taking action on ways and means to elevate yourself to the next level.

Create some Fire and Pass the Torch,

The Kanary Team
http://www.johnkanary.com