Why feeling like a beginner is a good thing.

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You know that frustrating feeling when you know what you should be doing — but can’t seem to pull it off? You walk away thinking, “Come on, I know better than that.”

That’s not you messing up. That’s you learning.

It’s called conscious incompetence, and it’s one of the most uncomfortable — but most important — stages of mastery.

There are four stages in total — and knowing them can make the messy middle feel a lot less frustrating.

Stage 1 – Unconscious Incompetence

You’re doing it wrong but don’t even know it.Ignorance really is bliss — you’re unaware there’s a better way.

Stage 2 – Conscious Incompetence

You now know you’re doing it wrong. It’s uncomfortable — but this is real progress. Awareness means you’ve started learning.

Stage 3 – Conscious Competence

You can do it, but it takes focus and effort. This is where most of the grind happens — deliberate reps, feedback, and a bit of frustration.(We often bounce between Stage 2 and 3 — that’s normal.)

Stage 4 – Unconscious Competence

You can do it without thinking. Like writing your name — once clumsy, now effortless.

All four stages matter.

And unlike writing your name, we don’t actually want to stay in Stage 4 forever.

If you never feel like a beginner in your training, you’re not really improving — you’re just maintaining.

That shaky squat, that new run pace, that habit you keep forgetting — those aren’t failures.

They’re signs you’re in the zone where growth happens.

Lean into that.

Because the people who can sit in that discomfort the longest are the ones who make the biggest jumps.

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P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie