I looked around the living room, pry bar in hand. Piles of plaster, lathe, and paneling surrounded me, and I was covered in dust. We had just moved into our first home—a wreck of a place—but my husband had promised that renovations would start immediately. Three months in, with no progress in sight, I took matters into my own hands.
When my husband came home that evening, he took one look at me and chuckled, “I guess the renovations have started.”
Change often starts like this—not with a carefully laid-out plan, but with a sudden realization that something needs to shift. It isn’t always a dramatic “before and after” moment. In reality, change is fluid, slow, uncertain, and messy. It’s like taking two steps forward, then three sideways, and maybe one backward.
But here’s the thing: You already have built-in skills that make navigating change easier—you just might not realize it yet.
The Four Phases of Learning
When learning something new, we all move through four distinct stages. Recognizing these can help you lean into your natural strengths and trust the process of change.
- Unconscious Incompetence (You don’t know what you don’t know.)
Think back to when you first learned to drive. At first, you didn’t know what you didn’t know—until your butt was in the drivers seat.
- Conscious Incompetence (You know you don’t know yet.)
Once you started, there was suddenly so much to think about—checking mirrors, using turn signals, remembering which was the gas and which was the brake!
- Conscious Competence (You know how, but it takes effort.)
After a dozen or two road excursions, you could drive smoothly, but you still had to think about every turn.
- Unconscious Competence (It’s second nature now.)
Now? You hop in the car and arrive at your destination, barely remembering the drive—it’s automatic.
These unconscious skills—the ones you don’t have to think about—are often the superpowers that make change easier.
Tapping into Your Personal Strengths
I often get asked, “What tools do you use to balance your energy or align with a new goal?” At first, I shrug because these things feel automatic. But when I slow down and reflect, I realize I do have techniques and tools that create a foundation for my day, for change, and for navigating life’s speed bumps.
These are things I do without thinking—and you have them too.
Uncertain what your superpowers are? Start here:
- What do people often ask you for help with?
- What’s something you do so effortlessly that it surprises you when others struggle with it?
- When was the last time you had a smooth transition or moved through a change with ease—what helped you?
Using Your Superpowers for Change
I have a very fluid, energetic hygiene process. Most days, I listen to what my body, mind, and spirit need, which determines the elements of my routine.
When I want to make a change, I take the time to align myself with that change before taking action.
I don’t consciously think about these things—I just do them. But once I was asked about it, I realized they are the foundation of how I navigate change.
How to Lean Into Your Strengths:
- How do you organize new information in a specific way?
- Do you lean into logic or connect emotionally with a situation before acting?
- How do you tune into what your body/mind/spirit needs at the moment?
These aren’t just habits. They’re your superpowers. Celebrate them, lean into them, and remember that you started at the unconscious incompetence phase at one point. Over time, you took small, consistent steps until these skills became second nature—your personal toolkit for change.
The Lesson in the Renovation
That first home renovation took almost two years. It was the first but definitely not the last. Over the years, I have become a pretty adept DIYer. My innate willingness to jump in and start has served me well (and gotten me into a couple of pickles, too! 😊).
Change doesn’t require perfection—it requires trust in your own process.
💡 So, what’s your superpower? Drop me a note and let me know—I’d love to hear!