The 4 phases of knowledge.

From subconscious incompetence to conscious competence

Knowledge is power, they say. But only if you put it into practice. However, in order to be able to put it into practice, you first have to acquire knowledge. Interestingly, this process follows a relatively simple pattern. Knowing it is helpful because it sheds light on why we may miss out on some knowledge.

It’s precisely this aspect that leads directly to the first phase:

Subconscious Incompetence

However, the somewhat negative term incompetence shouldn’t be regarded as such. Incompetence in this context rather means not knowing, i.e. not having the knowledge.

This phase is subconscious, because you don’t even know that this knowledge exists yet!

In other words:

You don’t know anything about the knowledge that you don’t yet know exists!

You don’t know that there is specific knowledge on a certain topic. Therefore, you can’t know this knowledge, or more precisely its content.

This isn’t your fault and therefore the term incompetence shouldn’t be seen as negative. When this state changes, the second phase follows:

Conscious Incompetence

In this phase, however, the term incompetence loses some of its neutral meaning. The reason for this is that in this phase you’re aware that certain knowledge exists. However, you don’t know it – in terms of understanding it.

The term incompetence now takes on a slightly negative meaning, as you’re aware that knowledge exists. It’s therefore up to you to acquire it. Now that you know that there is something you could learn.

The concept of incompetence becomes completely negative if this knowledge would be important to you and yet you don’t acquire it.

Then you’re deliberately incompetent!

You could change this situation by moving on to the third phase:

Conscious Competence

In this phase, you have acquired the knowledge, but you have to make a conscious effort to put it into practice. You must constantly and consciously engage with the knowledge so that you can derive an action from it: putting the knowledge into practice.

This brings you to the fourth phase:

Subconscious Competence

In this phase, you no longer have to consciously deal with the knowledge, i.e. you no longer have to consciously make sure that you implement it or whether and how you implement it.

It happens subconsciously. You almost don’t know that you know something because you no longer have to think about it. It happens automatically.

In this case, you went through the four phases by identifying knowledge, acquiring it, and finally implementing it.

Compare it to learning an unknown language:

In the first phase, you’re not aware that this unknown language exists.

In the second phase, it’s known to you and it’s up to you to learn this language or not.

In the third phase, you learn the language, but you still need to concentrate on using the right words and phrases.

In the fourth phase, you speak the language fluently and no longer have to consciously concentrate on using the right words and phrases.

The critical phases in this process are the first three:

In the first phase, you don’t know that certain knowledge exists. Knowledge that could be useful to you under certain circumstances. If you don’t make an effort to constantly look for new knowledge, you will get stuck in this phase!

That’s why it makes sense to constantly research new, unknown knowledge. This is the way out of the first phase.

In the second phase, you know that certain knowledge exists. In this case, you also know whether this knowledge would be helpful for you. If you don’t make an effort to learn this knowledge in this phase, you will remain in this phase!

For this reason, you should definitely acquire the knowledge that you have identified as helpful for you, because this is the way out of the second phase.

In the third phase, you are practically learning the knowledge. Now it’s important that you internalize it so that you can put it into practice. Otherwise you will always remain a theoretician and be stuck in this phase!

You should therefore implement knowledge that is helpful and useful to you so that it’s firmly anchored in your subconscious as a belief. This will then lead you into the fourth phase.

This is the stage you want to reach and should reach if you want to benefit from knowledge.

Another practical example to illustrate this.

First phase: Subconscious Incompetence

You don’t know that cars exist. That’s why you know nothing about them and can’t drive one.

Second phase: Conscious Incompetence

Now you know that cars exist. You also know that you know nothing about them. It’s now up to you to acquire knowledge about them if you want to drive one at some point. After all, with your new knowledge, you also know that cars are practical and fun.

Third phase: Conscious Competence

Now you have learned everything there is to know about cars. However, this doesn’t yet qualify you to drive one. You have to learn how first! Consequently, you have to learn to put your theoretical knowledge into practice or practical knowledge. You have to practise and learn how to drive a car until it becomes second nature to you, as they say.

Fourth phase: Subconscious Competence

Now you know how to drive a car, and since you do it permanently, the necessary knowledge and all the necessary actions that you previously had to perform consciously have become subconscious knowledge and actions.

You no longer have to think about what you need to know when driving a car and how to steer (act) it!

It all happens automatically and subconsciously!

Now think about your current situation and consider how much knowledge there is in the world that you don’t yet know about! Knowledge that could turn out to be extremely helpful and useful!

Also ask yourself whether you sometimes reject new, unknown knowledge?

Then you would be in a fifth phase, which isn’t actually part of the process, as it makes no sense at all to be in this phase:

Consciously Subconscious Incompetence

You’re consciously in subconscious incompetence because you reject any new knowledge!

There can be many reasons for this: you may be afraid of the insights that the new knowledge could bring you. It could also be that you think you know better, or that you think you already know what this new knowledge is all about.

The reasons are unimportant, only the result counts: You’re in an extremely unfavorable situation! Another definition for this phase would be ignorance, and it’s quite unlikely that you consciously want to put yourself in a state of ignorance.

Apart from the obvious consequences that the quality of ignorance brings with it, this state will also affect you negatively on other levels: Your thoughts, emotions, feelings, actions, beliefs and perceptions will be tinged with ignorance.

Internalize the four phases, and if you haven’t already, start actively researching knowledge and then go through the four phases. Also memorize the characteristics of the fifth phase so that you don’t fall into it!

Note: the term ignorance is used here in its negative sense, because it leads to negative consequences. Not to be confused with ignorance in the positive sense: the ability to ignore negative influences, events etc…