Today’s message is to help you find a sense of ease and presence while learning something new. 

Whether that’s a new hobby, new skillset or building a specific area of your life. 

Here are two of the ways you learn:

First are the ways you learn that support areas of interest. Expanding something you already love and are inspired by fuels your presence and self-worth even more. This way of learning is usually fulfilling. 

Second, is where it can be a bit more challenging and what I’m discussing today. These are the ways in which you are forced or called to grow and expand so you can create more of the life you truly desire. 

This growth often starts out with excitement and clarity that a new action can help fuel your growth. This could be new structures around finances, learning new marketing techniques, a new kind of workout or a new career path, stepping into motherhood or marriage or a life change. 

Here’s where things can take a turn. Once you’ve decided you’re going to commit and invest in your learning you start to dive in. Then you uncover how much there is you don’t yet know. It can quickly feel daunting, overwhelming and frustrating. You may even feel like giving up. You may feel old wounds and not feel good enough. This is when you’ll start to notice judgments, comparisons and self doubt as you’re seeing others do this thing you think you ‘should’ or maybe even want to learn. 

Three things are necessary to build your desire, consistency, commitment and awareness. 

3 Steps To Learning From Flow:

1. Awareness

Checking in with all aspects of awareness: physical, mental, emotional and energetic. 

2. Values

Linking what you’re learning to what you already love and are inspired by. How specifically is this particular action supporting you in your highest values? And, helping you achieve what you want? 

3. Understanding

This is the one I’m going to dive into today. The stages of learning help you understand, accept and lean into where you are. This allows you to stay engaged, present, connected and committed to what it is you say you want to learn without getting bogged down by overwhelm, frustration or feeling paralyzed. 

I was reminded of the importance of checking in with ourselves when we’re learning something new. I walked myself through these steps intuitively and wanted to lay them out for you (and myself) here as a replicable process. 

I went from feeling completely defeated and overwhelmed while learning something new, to moving through these steps, and then feeling clear, inspired and capable of taking action. Now, my skill set hasn’t changed much yet–but my mindset did. 

Remember, your circumstances don’t have to change for a new perception. With a new mindset comes the ability to grow much more easily.

I went to step 1 first to build my awareness. What I was feeling physically and where I felt the tension. I tuned into the emotion and thoughts that were present. I noticed who was in my energetic space that I was comparing myself to. I found the part of myself that felt like giving up and felt defeated. The one that felt like a victim and didn’t want to do the work. I sat with the discomfort and allowed space for it to just be fully. Each of our parts wants time and attention and to feel protected in what it’s trying to help us gain or achieve. Once I felt space in my body to invite in something new…that’s when I found the part that was wanting to learn this skill. The part that said yes to this challenge. The part of me that knows anything is possible that I truly desire. 

I connected to my heart and then asked is this something I truly want to learn? When I got a yes here…that’s the sign for me to keep going and to keep connecting if/when I feel off.

You and I are capable of soo much, but it truly isn’t your capacity but your connection and desire that leads to consistency. 

Remember the more you can be present with–the more you can grow. 

Then I did a little linking of how specifically this new skill set would serve me in my highest values. 

Next, I remembered the stages of learning and found it so helpful in just a moment of understanding and awareness.

What are the 4 stages of learning?

1. Unconscious Incompetence

This is when you don’t know what you don’t know. Think of an area you know nothing about. 

Remember when you were 13, 14, 15 years old. Maybe you couldn’t wait to drive a car and felt like that time was getting closer. You see people driving cars, obviously. You might even start paying a little more attention because you know you’ll have a license in just a few years. But when it truly comes to being behind the wheel you don’t know the sensation of driving at a certain speed, being the one to tell how far away cars are and when you can pass. You’re unconsciously incompetent. You really don’t know what you don’t know. And, you’re not trying to learn yet. 

Now, as you move into stage 2, you may say, there’s something I want to go learn or feel like I need to learn to get ahead. You’re making a conscious choice in your mind here that you’re going to learn something. 

2. Consciously Incompetent

Now you get in the driver’s seat, and they’re like, here are the 20 things you have to check or know before you can drive. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to fly a plane. Once you decide to fly, you know there’s going to be so much ahead of you to learn. 

You are now overwhelmed. You’re seeing all the pieces that get laid out, and you feel like, “I don’t know how to do that”. “I don’t know if I can remember all this.” “how am I possibly going to do this on my own.”…

This is an overwhelming stage, and it’s a natural stage of learning because now you’re seeing all things you don’t know. You’re still in your mind here. 

This is where I was yesterday and once I brought my attention to where I was, it wasn’t so overwhelming anymore. It’s to be expected as a part of the learning process and if you stay with it…you will move to the third stage. 

3. Consciously Competent

First you will start to be more confident and trust yourself as you move through this stage. Then you will start to be competent with different scenarios. You won’t feel tension and you’ll know what to do. 

You’re integrating your mind and body. Your body is starting to have the experience of doing and your mind knows what to do. You may still have to think about it here or there but when you add in a new scenario you can handle it. Maybe that’s a new road, or highway or driving at night but now it’s just one small chunk to add and you know you can do it–and you have references of having done something similar.

Then you move into the final stage.

4. Unconsciously Competent

It is so effortless in your body, you don’t even have to think about it. 

You might even be able to zone out (not that you want to when driving with this example, but you may at times). And, you still somehow get yourself from point a to point b. This is where you start building mastery. 

Check in with yourself: 

• How do you feel when learning something new? 
• Do you stretch yourself often? 
• Is there something new you’re in the middle of learning? Which stage are you in? 
• Or, is there something you’ve been wanting to learn? If so, are you ready to take action? 

Here’s to you being congruent, connected and loving as you grow.

Love,
Laurin