Bruce Lee once famously described how he learns a complicated martial arts move.
At first, a punch is just a punch. Then it becomes a detailed blend of intention, physical force, breath and energy.
But once that’s mastered, a punch is just a punch again.
But a wholly different one.
In NLP, it’s taught that there are four kinds of learning.
Unconscious Incompetence
This is when you totally suck at something, but don’t know that you totally suck.
Conscious Incompetence
This is when you totally suck at something, and you know it. Like me and golf.
Conscious Competence
This is when you can do something, but you’ve got to focus all your energy on it or you’ll mess up. Kind of like when you’re first learning to ride a bike, and you’ve got to put all your effort into not crashing or falling over.
Unconscious Competence
This when you can do something without thinking. Like most people can drive a car, ride a bike, or tie their shoes while thinking about other stuff.
The good news about human behavior is that pretty much ANY skill can be brought to the level of unconscious competence.
Imagine some of the skills you could get good at, and be able to do well without thinking.
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- Sales
- Currency Trading
- Seduction
- Persuasion
- Juggling
- Sword Fighting
- Unicycle Riding
- Banjo Playing
- Novel Writing
- Public Speaking
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The list goes on and on. Since our brains are pre-wired learning machines, all you’ve got to do is give yourself a strong enough intention, and you’re unconscious will figure out how. Sure, it will take some participation on your part, but not as much as most people think.
The biggest step is moving away from the “wishing” stage to the “intending” stage.
Once you set a strong intention, you’re halfway there.
What skill would you like to master?