Welcome to Minute with Mallon!

Something I Taught:

One of my sons, Brock, just moved back from Puerto Rico! Brock and his brother Joe own a business that services companies all over the United States. Their business allows them to work from anywhere in the world, so a couple of years ago they decided to go experience the islands. Joe found his home, Brock did not. So now he’s decided to try Beaufort, SC.

He came back in mid-December and wasn't ready to move to SC until the beginning of the year. So we got to enjoy his presence for half the month of December! ❤️

Sandy and I enjoy playing pickleball. Despite what you think you know about it, it's AWESOME! As a matter of fact, it's the fastest growing sport in America. If you want to see a very funny short video of how addictive it is, watch this: 4 Stages of Pickleball

Anyway, one morning we took Brock up to the courts across from our home. When you begin learning anything, it's not comfortable. Sandy and I have been playing for years, so obviously we were much better than Brock at first.

We explained the rules and started "dinking" with him. After a few minutes, that part of the game started making sense to him. Then we backed up and started volleying back and forth. Again, after a few minutes, his eye-hand coordination began improving. So we decided to play a game. We explained some of the rules, then just started playing nice and slow with him. As we played, he quickly got better – you could see the change even as the match progressed. But he lost that first game. And the second too.

And that's okay!

At times I could see a wee bit of frustration come upon him. I realized that he expected to be good maybe a little too quickly. He wasn’t bearing in mind that when we try something new, we need to put in the work before it starts to feel natural.

Which brings me to today's lesson.

I pulled Brock aside and explained to him the 4 stages of how we learn and grow:

I explained that whenever we are learning anything, we go through 4 stages:

1. Unconscious Incompetence: In this stage, individuals are unaware of their lack of knowledge or skill in a particular area. They don't know what they don't know. So they're fine!

2. Conscious Incompetence: At this stage, people become aware of their deficiencies or lack of knowledge or skill. They recognize what they need to learn or improve upon.

3. Conscious Competence: Individuals have acquired the knowledge or skill, but they need to consciously think and practice to apply it effectively. It requires effort and focus.

4. Unconscious Competence: At this final stage, people have mastered the knowledge or skill to the point where it becomes second nature. They can perform the task or apply the knowledge almost unconsciously.

I explained to Brock that the best we could hope to get to that day was Conscious Incompetence. Progressing beyond that stage just takes time. But Brock has a great deal of athletic ability. He's a martial artist, has played sports all his life, and can do some pretty amazing things with his body.

So the good news was that through practice, he could reach Conscious Competence quickly. And then through more practice, Unconscious Competence! That thought thrilled him!

So he bought a set of Pickleball rackets and balls from Amazon THAT DAY!

Another one bites the dust! 😜

So how does this apply to you?

Be patient with yourself. I hope that this newsletter has you thinking a little differently, and that it encourages you to get out of your comfort zones and try some new things.

It Will Take Time! Expect it. Anytime you try something new, you have to go through these 4 stages. I tell this to all my coaching clients to help them understand that through patience and repetition, they will get better and better at running and building their businesses, planning their days, improving as leaders, or whatever their personal goals might be.

It just takes time.

So expect it!

Something I Learned:

When I started doing this newsletter in the early days of 2023, I had to think everything out. Each newsletter took quite a while to write. The information was in my head, but it was HARD to get out! I've got a very full schedule of coaching each day, so I had to squeeze writing time in. The time it took to learn this was inconvenient.

Until it wasn't.

As the months have gone by, writing this newsletter has become very natural for me. There is flow each week when I write. And I really enjoy it!

About 20 minutes ago, I sat down with an idea about my son and Pickleball. And it has just flowed onto this page. I guess I'm somewhere between Conscious Competence and Unconscious Competence now.

And it brings me great joy!

So what about you? What do you want to learn and get good at? Be patient with yourself as you go through the 4 stages. You'll get there.

Something to Ponder:

In the journey of learning, you move from unconscious incompetence, where you don't know what you don't know, to conscious incompetence, where you're aware of what you need to learn. Keep going until you reach conscious competence, where your skills are honed, and eventually, you'll find yourself in a state of unconscious competence, where excellence becomes second nature.

Something I Saw:

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Hope you have an incredible week!

Robert

Minute With Mallon - The 4 Stages of Learning: Embracing Growth and Patience