Matt Gronberg’s Post

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Founder of Storage Scholars - Helping university housing officers improve their students' arrival & departure experience

We often tear ourselves down when we aren’t good at things instantly. I believe most successful people take hyper-ownership and understanding of whatever stage they’re at for a given skill. I use the framework below to identify where I’m at with specific skills. Unconscious Incompetence - You don’t even know that you suck at something yet. This stage is blissful but foolish to stay in the long term if you are looking to grow. Conscious Incompetence - We’re now aware that we suck but are starting to take steps to improve in that domain. This is the “eat-shit” phase where you do things that aren’t “worth it” or “is beneath you” and the results are poor. Successful people attack this stage with repetitions, knowing they will likely be bad at the activity they’re pursuing. Conscious Competence - Once you’ve done enough inputs in the “eat-shit” phase where you get a successful outcome, you can start to understand what you did to succeed. To do it again well, you’ll have to be intentional and follow the steps that you did to win the first time. Unconscious Competence - You’ve done something so many times you could teach a college course on the topic. It’s like clockwork and there’s no thought involved. It’s just running the playbook you know by heart, again and again and again. Before you get upset with an activity you’re pursuing or a skill you’re learning, ask yourself what stage you’re at? Is it reasonable for you to be upset or do you just need to spend a little more time in your current stage?

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