As we work through our practices, it helps to understand the learning process. Let’s look at the example of learning to ride a bike:
There was a time when you didn’t even know what it meant to ride a bike. Then, at a certain age you felt a burning desire to ride a bike, but you didn’t know how. You soon figured out that you’d have to sit on the bike while pedaling and steering. You might have even wondered how people balance on a bicycle. Maybe you didn’t even realize that you needed brakes!
When you started to learn, you likely focused on learning one or two skills at a time. If you started with training wheels then you focused on steering and pedaling without concern for balance. If you started without pedals, then you focused on steering and balance. In either case, it took time to adapt and learn how to control the bike before you could do so without lots of concentration.
Once those skills were mastered, new ones could be added. After awhile, you were able to ride a bike without thinking about it. It became so ingrained that you started to use the phrase, “It’s just like riding a bike,” to refer to a skill that once learned is never forgotten. Then the cycle starts all over again: you learned to ride on dirt trails, you learned how to jump the bike, you learned about sprockets and spokes… each step in the process of continual improvement takes you through the learning cycle again.
The learning process is broken into four levels as defined by Martin M. Broadwell:
Step 1: Unconscious Incompetence (AKA: ignorance is bliss)
As in the example above: “What is a bike?”
The first time you step into a car, everything is so new that you hardly know where to start. After learning the basics, there is little incentive to seek out or develop more advanced skills. This is a place where many drivers stay. This is also a period of stagnation where there is no progress. The driver feels confident that they have mastered the skills of their craft and that there is nothing else to learn. There is no better example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect than the way that people self-evaluate their driving skills.
Many drivers learn enough to go from point A to point B wjile staying on the road and without hitting anything. This is what leads drivers to believe that they are capable of driving safely while multitasking. A racing driver can even get caught in the idea that they have the necessary skills and that gaining more experience is the only way of improving performance. A driver who makes excuses for poor performance, like blaming the car or the team, demonstrates a state of unconscious incompetence. This is a symptom of a competition mindset with an ego that says, "I am the best" or “I know best.” This belief is part of the learning process but if it is left unchecked, then it keeps the student stuck in a state of unconscious incompetence; either indefinitely or until there is a rude awakening.
Step 2: Conscious Incompetence (The source of my pain)
“I want to ride a bike but I don’t know how. I stumble with the bike as I figure out how to control it.”
For some drivers, it can be difficult to move into this state because acknowledging one’s weaknesses can be painful. This is the stage in any skill where many people want to give up and do something else. It requires a driver to get past his ego and recognize that there is more to learn and it will take effort to learn it. This state represents the beginner mindset: “I do not have the skills that I want but I want to learn.” If this mindset is embraced, then it can be a period of rapid learning where new information is acquired easily. It is also a period where existing beliefs are challenged. A student’s willingness to question his existing understanding of things is critical in order to make room for new possibilities. It is also possible for drivers to get stuck here in their limiting beliefs: “I’m a bad driver”, “I’m accident prone”, "I'm not fast enough", or ”I’ll never win." It is best to keep humble optimism: “I want to improve” or “I have more to learn.”
Step 3: Conscious Competence (Practice, practice, practice)
“Hey, riding a bike is a lot of fun. I’m pretty good at it.”
Here is where knowledge is applied, tested, adapted and assimilated. This period requires a great deal of effort and focus to break old habits and develop new ones. An honest assessment of a drivers limitations is needed to see how applying new techniques impacts his driving. We must apply deliberate practice in order to make the most of our time behind the wheel. This phase requires the most work and the most mental focus. However, a racer pushing harder to get more speed out of the car while in this state can be counterproductive. During a period of adaptation a driver might believe that his performance suffers while applying new techniques. There is a risk that the driver will fall back on old habits to avoid a perceived reduction in ability. This puts the driver in a purgatory between conscious and unconscious competence. It is only after the new skill has become second nature that a driver’s ability will make a leap forward, which brings us to the final step...
Step 4: Unconscious Competence (Performance)
“It’s just like riding a bike.”
People also call this 'operating from one’s subconscious'. This is the flow state where a driver is able to perform without trying to force it. In this state, the driver has mental processing power to dedicate to other tasks like identifying and avoiding potential incidents or planning and executing passes. A driver in this state feels that driving is effortless. Unfortunately, this is also where learning can plateau. However, this is not the end of the learning process. Conscious competence and unconscious incompetence have a lot in common. For example, you may have a good understanding of the proper driving line and you are able to drive it consistently, but your throttle and brake application need work. If you get caught up thinking how good you are at driving the line, you may not be aware of the other areas that need work. There is a danger of believing in ones mastery of a skill, which leads to being stuck in unconscious incompetence again.
We run through the learning cycle over and over again throughout our lives and throughout our skills development. Keep in mind that it is possible to be in all four states at any one time with different areas of learning. For example, you might master steering discipline with unconscious competence while your brake and throttle techniques are in a state of conscious incompetence. It may be helpful to be aware of what state you are experiencing in various facets of your life so that you can look to ways to move to the next state. Or you might decide that you are enjoying being at the state that you are in. The important thing is to not get stuck in any one state while you are trying to improve. Each state has a unique sticking point, which you can overcome if you are able to recognize it:
If you get stuck, it can be extremely helpful to have someone else critique and point out areas for improvement. Reading more and observing more capable drivers can also help you to get back to basics and self-analyze the areas that you wish to improve.