Personal competence can be loosely described as our ability to understand, successfully perform in, and master our world. Understand. Perform. Master. If I have confidence that I can do those three things when facing life’s challenges and opportunities, then I tend to feel competent. I feel as though I can sufficiently use my know-how and skills to manage and succeed at the tasks in front of me.
Our rapidly changing world requires that we push ourselves to keep up and continue learning and adding value. Thus, the learners will inherit the new world. With so much on the line, how can we activate our drive for competence in a healthy and energizing way? What moves the needle the most in developing competence? Here are the three most powerful activators.
Activator #1: Assess and Direct Your Desire to Learn
There are proven key indicators that reveal whether or not you will succeed in (or even try) any learning challenge. If you are aware of these indicators, then you can better shape your approach to learning, and thus growth, in life.
- Future Identity
- Intrinsic Value
- Utilitarian Value
- Opportunity Cost
- Delay Time
- Personal Control/Agency
- Social Support and Connection
- Bandwidth Belief
- Resource Availability
- Autonomy
Activator #2: Set a Real Challenge, Plan for Success, and Get a Coach
- Choose a few real, observable, and time-bound challenges that will advance your life.
- If you’re really going to enjoy the process of learning and developing a deeper sense of personal mastery, then you’ve got to become a planner.
- Try to get an unbiased coach to support you with good guidance and feedback along the way.
Activator #3: Integrate Successes into Your Identity
A sense of pride and progress is crucial to feeling competent.
Start writing in your journal at least once a week and noting what you’ve learned and how you’ve progressed.
Charge Points
1. One area I would have to develop more skill and competence in if I am going to make my dream future come true is…
2. A sixty-day speed-learning challenge I’m going to give myself is…
3. One of the ways I’m going to start celebrating my wins and integrating my successes into my identity is to…
* Source: The Charge by Brendon Burchard