The Danger of Not Knowing What You Don't Know
Unconscious Incompetence it is called in the great 4-step paradigm of learning. The scale goes like this:
A person is Unconsciously Incompetent at something (just beginning, doesn't yet know what they don't know).
They learn a bit and practice some and become Consciously Incompetent. This is the "uh-oh" stage as I think of it, the "what have I gotten myself into" stratum of the scale. Many people quit at this point as they realize they aren't going to just practice guitar for a week and then be able to belt out Stairway to Heaven in two weeks (or La Villa Strangiato for fellow Rush fans). This is where a person begins to think, "geesh, there is a lot more to this than I thought." They know they need work and are aware that there is a lot to learn.
Next step: Conscious Competence. Now the person on the path of mastery in any given endeavor is developing a skill-set, as well as learning how to self-assess/self-correct. They know there is more to learn and still have to think about how to do what they are doing but the actions are becoming smoother and errors are less and they may even have moments where they perform in the elusive 'state-of-flow'. They see a bigger picture and get a taste for how much farther they can go.
Final stage is Unconscious Competence.....sometimes referred to as second nature. Things are flowing now and reactions are faster and more seamless. A level of mastery has been attained. Interestingly, most people who hit this level will think of themselves as having so much more to learn. They see a larger realm of possibility and are fueled by the accomplishments that they have made.
As a life-long student of the horse, I yearn for this level of Unconscious Competence in all that I do with my horses. On my best days, I understand the importance of working towards it in even the very 'simple' things. Safe turnout for example, or haltering, all things that could possibly be put on automatic pilot, but, if instead, a choice is made to stay truly present and to use these moments as opportunities to converse with the horses, to remain mindful of the correctness of the actions, these simple things can aid in the journey to mastery.
I find this 4-level model to be beneficial in understanding those moments when there is a sudden awareness of some aspect of my horses' behavior or an action I am doing that is causing an unintended result. When I find myself thinking, well, why didn't I see that before? That really can be a moment of celebration--- although I rarely treat it that way---usually it is a head-shaking moment of bewilderment at the obvious that I missed. But I should be asking myself, is this a moment of growth, of moving up the spiral of perpetual growth? Am I entering the next, higher rung on the spiral even if only for this particular small aspect of my horsemanship? Possibly.
This process, of moving from a lack of awareness to a dawning awakening is one of the most intriguing aspects of personal development, in my opinion.
Likewise, understanding the levels of learning takes some of the sting out of the disappointment of discovering the 'next level' as I slam into the next challenge or roadblock to moving forward or reach the end of my skill-set and find the next hole in my knowledge. It is truly a spiral that continues on and on, each level of mastery landing the student into a new level of incompetence, at least for the brave and curious.
This personal growth stuff, is not for the faint of heart!
With horses, one must though, be aware, that those states of incompetence can extract a pretty high toll on us. For nearly every time I have been hurt, or unintentionally caused pain or stress on my horses, I can, after a time, trace back to the point where my actions were more 'advanced' than the knowledge base or skill set that I needed to successfully execute them.
I think this awareness of the edges of knowledge is more than 'hind-sight is 20/20'; I think it is as important a part of horsemanship as any technique or aspect of equine psychology we could learn: the simple (but not easy) act of making sure we have done our due diligence to educate and develop ourselves for the task at hand, can quite literally make or break us.
To the next level,
Sue.
A person is Unconsciously Incompetent at something (just beginning, doesn't yet know what they don't know).
They learn a bit and practice some and become Consciously Incompetent. This is the "uh-oh" stage as I think of it, the "what have I gotten myself into" stratum of the scale. Many people quit at this point as they realize they aren't going to just practice guitar for a week and then be able to belt out Stairway to Heaven in two weeks (or La Villa Strangiato for fellow Rush fans). This is where a person begins to think, "geesh, there is a lot more to this than I thought." They know they need work and are aware that there is a lot to learn.
Next step: Conscious Competence. Now the person on the path of mastery in any given endeavor is developing a skill-set, as well as learning how to self-assess/self-correct. They know there is more to learn and still have to think about how to do what they are doing but the actions are becoming smoother and errors are less and they may even have moments where they perform in the elusive 'state-of-flow'. They see a bigger picture and get a taste for how much farther they can go.
As a life-long student of the horse, I yearn for this level of Unconscious Competence in all that I do with my horses. On my best days, I understand the importance of working towards it in even the very 'simple' things. Safe turnout for example, or haltering, all things that could possibly be put on automatic pilot, but, if instead, a choice is made to stay truly present and to use these moments as opportunities to converse with the horses, to remain mindful of the correctness of the actions, these simple things can aid in the journey to mastery.
I find this 4-level model to be beneficial in understanding those moments when there is a sudden awareness of some aspect of my horses' behavior or an action I am doing that is causing an unintended result. When I find myself thinking, well, why didn't I see that before? That really can be a moment of celebration--- although I rarely treat it that way---usually it is a head-shaking moment of bewilderment at the obvious that I missed. But I should be asking myself, is this a moment of growth, of moving up the spiral of perpetual growth? Am I entering the next, higher rung on the spiral even if only for this particular small aspect of my horsemanship? Possibly.
This process, of moving from a lack of awareness to a dawning awakening is one of the most intriguing aspects of personal development, in my opinion.
Likewise, understanding the levels of learning takes some of the sting out of the disappointment of discovering the 'next level' as I slam into the next challenge or roadblock to moving forward or reach the end of my skill-set and find the next hole in my knowledge. It is truly a spiral that continues on and on, each level of mastery landing the student into a new level of incompetence, at least for the brave and curious.
This personal growth stuff, is not for the faint of heart!
With horses, one must though, be aware, that those states of incompetence can extract a pretty high toll on us. For nearly every time I have been hurt, or unintentionally caused pain or stress on my horses, I can, after a time, trace back to the point where my actions were more 'advanced' than the knowledge base or skill set that I needed to successfully execute them.
I think this awareness of the edges of knowledge is more than 'hind-sight is 20/20'; I think it is as important a part of horsemanship as any technique or aspect of equine psychology we could learn: the simple (but not easy) act of making sure we have done our due diligence to educate and develop ourselves for the task at hand, can quite literally make or break us.
To the next level,
Sue.
Comments
Post a Comment