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Knowing What You Do Not Know
Research has demonstrated that people can become more pessimistic about their abilities just as their skills in that area are increasing.
For example, a group of students was asked to rate their logical reasoning skills. They were then given skills training in logical reasoning and again asked to rate their skills. Often, these same students were more pessimistic about their abilities after their actual skills had increased! An unintended consequence of the training was that the students recognized their own flawed logical reasoning in the past. As a result, they felt more pessimistic about their abilities even though they had improved their skills (see article reference below).
More simply said, ignorance is bliss. When you try something new, you don’t know what you don’t know. However, as you gain experience and become more effective, you begin to see your own weaknesses. If you have been developing your skills in a particular area, you may well hit a point where your confidence decreases just as your skills are increasing. Don’t stop! Don’t allow your emotions to halt your efforts. Your problem is that you have an adolescent ability, and adolescents are moody and mercurial. If you push through your uncertainty, and keep using and developing your skills, your adolescent skills will develop into adult competencies – and you will reap the rewards.
Performance Principle: When you learn, you increasingly know what you do not know – and this can hurt your confidence. If you have been developing some skill or ability, don’t be surprised if your confidence takes a dip after you have reached an initial level of competence. You are better today than you were, and you will keep getting better. The only thing that has changed is that now, you know what you don’t know.
Questions to Consider:
- Have you considered giving up on mastering a skill that you have been working on for a while?
- Are you being fair with yourself about the amount of progress you have made?
- Are you willing to push through a temporary lack of confidence in order to achieve true mastery of this skill?
