4 Stages of Learning to Master Any Skill Faster

Want the secret to mastering any skill in the shortest amount of time? 

Then you will want to understand the four stages of learning and what to do at each phase to get to the next level.

You see, learning itself is a skill too.

Learning it enables you to learn any skill faster. Consider these best high-income skills for example. And in this article, you will learn how to navigate each of the four phases.

So let’s dive in!

What are the stages of learning

The four stages of learning provide a framework to understand where you are, what to expect next, and how to get there. The phases are:

1. Unconscious incompetence: Not knowing what you must know.
2. Conscious incompetence: Knowing what you need to learn. 
3. Conscious competence: Capable of demonstrating the skill.
4. Unconscious competence: Achieving skill mastery that enables effortless demonstration without mental effort.

Many people credit Abraham Maslow for this framework but the book The Dynamics of Skill Coaching is the first publication that mentions the four stages of learning.

Let’s take a closer look at each phase and the practical implications.

Stage 1: Unconscious incompetence

Lacking awareness characterizes this stage. You are unaware of what you should know to perform a specific skill well.

For example, I never considered coding a career option because I thought coding was too complex. How do you even get started with something like that?

Turns out that if you decode the final skill into the smallest pieces, it’s very doable – especially with access to the internet.

The first step is understanding all the moving parts of the skills you want to learn. Then you want to identify which of these sub-skills make the foundation. When you go through this phase, you will gain awareness and self-confidence.

And that counts for learning anything:

• Specific career skills;
• Learning a new language;
• Understanding new technologies;
• Interpersonal skills, like communication;
• Personal development;
• Playing an instrument;
• Entrepreneurship;
• How to get fit;
• And anything else…

The first step is gathering data and becoming aware of the final skill’s fundamental pieces.

How to transition and become conscious?

Learning any new skill starts with an open mind.

The first step is to take a chunk of time to gather data and insights – as much as possible. Then, you want to review the pieces to spot common patterns without making premature conclusions.

You see, the problem is that we often tend to judge things too early based on our beliefs and experiences.

Openness and curiosity are essential traits to avoid that.

There’s simply too much stuff that you do not know. And even a (large) part of what you know as the truth may not even be so. 

So stay curious.

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.

– Albert Einstein

Let’s take a closer look at practical ways to become more aware. And let’s split it up between general awareness (broad learning) and specific skill awareness (focused learning).

General Consciousness

Everyone benefits from a basic understanding of everything. And here’s how you can increase your wealth of knowledge:

• Question everything, from what you know to what you read to what you hear from friends, the news, or the government.
• Gain different perspectives. Read books on various topics, listen to opposing voices (pay special attention to those that contradict your beliefs), and welcome other opinions and ideas.
• Think critically about everything you hear, read, and see. Almost nothing is black and white in the world, even though popular opinion makes you think it is.
• Look for patterns in the world. Patterns are everywhere, and your ability to identify, understand, and use them will greatly benefit you.

In summary: be curious, stay open to new ideas, assume everyone (including yourself) is wrong about everything, and keep looking for truth and patterns.

Specific skill awareness

Do you want to learn a specific skill? Then you can narrow your focus to everything related to that skill. However, you still want an open mind to avoid becoming tunnel-visioned too early. 

Instead, dissect the skill first. Gaining clarity beforehand allows you to create a more effective plan and thus, master the craft faster.

Fortunately, the internet makes this extremely accessible.

Here’s how to approach this learning phase:

• Identify key players in that space. Who are the masters of the very skills that you want to learn? Try to identify a few players so you get a bunch of different perspectives.
• Find ways to learn from them. Can you get close to them? Do they do coaching, workshops, or live events? Perhaps they have a blog, YouTube channel or podcast. Or have they written or spoken on anyone else’s channel? What about books and courses?
• Ask questions to people that master the skills you desire (including strangers) on LinkedIn or other platforms. Most people are willing to provide some pointers if you ask particular questions that are fast and easy to answer. For example, ask for their best piece of advice that they wish they had known at the beginning.
• Identify common patterns. Analyze all the pieces of information you gathered and look for patterns. What are the essential practices and drills you could do?

The above provides a good understanding of what’s required to learn the skill – and what to do next.

Stage 2: Conscious incompetence

At this phase, you understand the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Now, you hold every puzzle piece and have to put the entire thing together.

In other words, you know what to do – now do it.

The difference between knowledge and wisdom is experience and expertise. Turning knowledge into wisdom makes you competent.

You must shift from passive to active learning.

Passive learning is easy, safe, and fun. You can do it from your comfort zone, especially with the internet. Simply sit back and read blogs and books, watch YouTube videos and courses, and listen to podcasts. 

A great starting point.

But if you never take action on what you learn, you will feel like you’re learning a lot, but when you get out in the real world, you will soon feel frustrated. 

That’s what happened to me:

My girlfriend is from Colombia, so I decided to learn Spanish for 30 minutes daily with an online course. And I did that for a year. 

Now you guess what happened when I finally visited her family… I could barely keep up with the conversation, let alone respond.

It was a painful lesson.

The problem? I knew a lot of grammar and vocabulary but never used it in actual conversation.

Turning knowledge into wisdom is the next step in your learning curve and requires a transformation from passive to active learning.

How to transition and become competent?

We all know that reading about exercises and nutrition will not lead to more muscles or weight loss. Instead, you need to put in the reps.

That works for everything else too.

So let’s turn on active mode to get to the next stage of learning.

• Create a learning plan in which you prioritize and plan the various elements you need to learn and how you will tackle them. What’s first, and how will you guarantee success?
• Set goals for each stage of your learning journey. Set long-term goals to master specific sub-skills. And set short-term goals for the frequency at which you would like to practice. In addition, review your goals often and alter them when necessary, especially when navigating unforeseen challenges and setbacks.
• Take massive action. Learning is all about repetition. The more you can practice, the faster you’re able to learn a new skill. You must do your repetitions.
• Embrace failures because they will happen often. You see, failure is not a bad thing; they are the essential stepping stone towards mastery. Unfortunately, the fear of failure keeps most people from achieving mastery, success, and their dreams.

In summary: create a plan, take massive action, and fail often. Adjust your plans if necessary. And then repeat the cycle.

Stage 3: Conscious competence

You will reach phase three with enough repetitions, failures, and getting back on your feet every time you fall. At this stage, you not only understand but are capable of performing the skill.

However, demonstrating the skill still takes effort.

The quality of your performance depends on the quality of your concentration and mental effort.

The action requires energy.

For example, when I learned to do a free-standing handstand, I could do it for about 20 seconds – but only a few seconds without focus.

But also think about the effort it takes to play the guitar when you first learn it versus those who’ve played it for years.

Removing effort from the equation is the final step to mastery.

How to transition and become unconscious yet again?

While you still have to practice often, the quality of the exercise begins to matter a lot more. Simply going through the motions won’t get you to the next level any longer.

Here’s how you can improve the quality of your practice:

• Identify and drill weaker areas. What parts of the skill do you dislike doing most? These are likely your weak points. And relentlessly practicing that area is often how you break through to the next level.
• Create feedback loops. Gaining feedback is a great way to spot weaker areas and improve the overall quality of your performance. For example, I video-record my handstands to get immediate feedback. For any intangible skill, you can join online communities, submit your progress and ask for feedback.
• Don’t be afraid to take a step back. The ego is a big pitfall for most people, especially when you begin to feel like an expert at the skill. However, sometimes the fastest way forward is by taking a step back and practicing a slightly easier drill.
• Deliberate practice is required at any stage, but at this point, you simply won’t progress without it. The quality of your practice matters. So, make your repetitions count.
• Being consistent in your practice is still essential too. Boredom will appear. Self-doubts will surface. And it takes self-discipline to achieve mastery. You must persist through boredom and all types of adversity.

In summary, quality matters to keep achieving breakthroughs at this stage. The road to mastery takes consistent and deliberate practice.

Stage 4: Unconscious competence

At this stage, demonstrating your skill no longer requires mental effort and the action becomes effortless for you. 

You achieved skill mastery.

You can do tons of cool stuff at this stage, like combining skills and creating a unique blend. For example, do you know those people that play various instruments, all at the same time?

A simpler example is singing whilst playing the guitar. 

So is there still a point in practicing at this stage?

Of course.

Mastery itself comes on different levels.

Look at any professional sport for evidence of that fact. Across the board, you will notice that a handful of athletes stand with necks and shoulders above the rest.

• Michael Jordan in basketball.
• Michael Phelps in swimming.
• Magnus Carlsen in chess.
• Serena Williams in tennis.
• Muhammed Ali in boxing.
• Tiger Woods in golf.
• Pelé in soccer.

Each of these sports has a few close runners ups and depending on your favorite team, you might have a different opinion on whose number one. 

But that discount the fact that every field has a top within the top. So, even at stage four of learning, there’s room for improvement.

How to transition from great to GOAT?

Let’s start by saying that becoming the GOAT (greatest of all time) is an incredibly challenging goal that only a rare few will achieve. It requires relentless dedication and sacrifice to a point where almost no one wants to go, including top-level athletes.

That said, even if you lack the ambition to become the GOAT, there are still many benefits to continuous skill improvement.

Think about an entrepreneur, for example.

You don’t have to become the GOAT of entrepreneurs to earn a great living and make an enormous impact on the world. Instead, there are rewards and benefits at EVERY LEVEL of mastery.

Here are some options you’ve got to improve:

• Keep doing what you’ve done so far. Consistent and deliberate practice combined with rapid feedback is still a very effective way to keep improving.
• Throw down a challenge to increase the difficulty of your practice. For example, every Grand Master in chess can play blindfolded, making a “regular” game effortless. Different training method provides new insights, allowing for more nuance in the game.
• Create a unique blend by combining skills or creating your style. For example, chess GOAT Magnus Carlsen is most known for his endgames. And Leonardo Da Vinci mastered architecture, engineering, painting, drafting, and sculpting skills – and combined them to provide unique value and become one-of-a-kind.
• Teach the skill to others. While this may not increase the depth of your skill, it will broaden your skill set. So depending on where you want to go from here, start teaching some other youngsters.

Mastering skills is fun – but not the end of the road. Instead, an entirely new universe opens up when you achieve mastery.

The only question is this: Where will you take it from here?

Conclusion

Understanding the four stages of learning enables you to identify where you’re at, what you can expect next, and how to get there.

The four phases are: 

• Unconscious incompetence: not knowing what to know;
• Conscious incompetence: knowing but lacking the skills; 
• Conscious competence: demonstrating skills through effort;
• Unconscious competence: skills become second nature. 

As you progress through each stage, you will face new challenges to overcome. So if you feel stuck, that’s probably why.

The main takeaway from the entire article?

Stay curious.

No matter how much you think you know, how many experiences you’ve got, and how much practice you put in, your ability to keep questioning and reinventing your skills paves the road toward success.

Want more guidance to achieve mastery?

Awareness is the secret to success in any area. You must become aware to recognize patterns – and then use them.

Not only on the road to achieving skill mastery… But also to master yourself – and life in general. 

You see, ignorance leads to mediocrity.

Knowledge and wisdom lead to mastery.

So if you want to live an exceptional life, do make sure to sign up to join the Insiders newsletter below. Every week, I share personal insights and lessons to help you stay consistent on your journey toward success.