- The Investors Club
- Posts
- Confident Ignorance
Confident Ignorance
11/3/24
--------------------------------------------------Mindset--------------------
Have you ever heard of the the Dunning-Kruger effect?
It contains the idea of confident ignorance (we don’t know what we don’t know) when starting something new. We jump in with an overabundance of enthusiasm to soon find out that we’re not that good at this new endeavor. Turns out, there is a lot we need to learn and experience to truly move toward mastery.
[Here's a book about it, if you're interested: Incompetence and Illusion by K.R. Stonebridge. (affiliate)]This is similar to concepts we’ve talked about in this newsletter before where we have to push through challenges (vs. trying to avoid them or taking shortcuts in life), otherwise those challenges will keep showing up in different forms until we put in the work to work through them toward mastery, or overcoming those challenges.
That’s the hard part in life -- dealing with challenges -- but the concept is the same for positive things we’re interested in trying that are new.
When embarking on something new we have to be motivated by our enthusiasm otherwise we would probably never try, but now, knowing about the Dunning-Kruger effect, we can be disciplined to stick it out long enough to get out of the valley we quickly find ourselves in, and make our way to the peak in the distance ahead.
It basically comes down to the power of taking action to get experience that we quickly learn from and can build upon until that experience compounds upon our ability to take efficient action to achieve our goal because now we have more experience and are more equipped to have better mastery of how to reach the goal.
For example, starting a new job is like this. Careers in general, that span a number of years, can be like this.
Romantic relationships can follow the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Parenting is like this -- actually I think each phase of a child’s development is the start of a new Dunning-Kruger effect for parents.
Learning to play an instrument is like this.
The point is, we have to be motivated enough to take the action required to gain the experience to be better at that thing we’re endeavoring to do.
…AND we need to have the humility and vulnerability to accept that it might be really hard before it gets easier.
However, if we stay motivated and disciplined, and believe in why we’re pursuing it, then it’s only a matter of time before we get where we want to be.
…And yes, the goal posts of life will then move again, but we will be further along on the Dunning-Kruger learning curve of life that we'll know this game well enough to know how to put the work in to reach the goal.
Quick note: if you enjoy content I share here, there is an easy way to support what I do by making purchases you'll make on Amazon anyway. Learn how here.
--------------------------------------------------Marketing--------------------
Sharing from my LinkedIn:
--------------------------------------------------Music--------------------
The next Songwriters Round Town event is on Thurs. Nov. 21, 2024 at the Imaginary Tea shop in Waunakee, WI. 7-9pm.There’s no cover charge, or cover songs. This is all about a curated group of invited songwriters getting together and sharing what they’re working on, the songs they’ve written they love the best, and their passion for the craft of songwriting.
----------
Stay positive. Stay healthy. Be kind.
Sincerely,
Nick VenturellaStrategic/Creative Professional