A Coach's Diary

“You can’t fight your way through The Pit, you have to find your way through The Pit.” - Landry Fields Life is full of ups and downs, and the best of the best learn how to manage the roller coaster. Landry Fields went from playing in the NBA to retiring and becoming an NBA GM. The 4 Stages of Competence is a message he shares with his young athletes: Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence (Ignorance) You don’t know what you don’t know, and you have blind confidence because you haven’t faced real adversity yet. Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence (Awareness) You get hit with real adversity and fall into the pit. You now know that you don’t know and can’t do everything, and your confidence takes a hit. Stage 3: Conscious Competence (Learning) You have gotten out of the pit because you have done the work needed to learn, grow, and do your job, but you have to stay locked in and focused. Stage 4: Unconscious Incompetence  You have reached the flow state or the zone where you can do wh...

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” - Moliere I once heard someone say life is all about battles and blessings. When we are in the middle of a battle, it can be hard to believe it will ever come to an end, and when we are in a season of blessings, we sometimes expect it will go forever. But nothing lasts forever, and that is the message behind The Hero’s Journey, the stages of ups and downs we all go through. The 5 stages of the hero’s journey: The Honeymoon Stage:  When you begin and everything is great. The Pit Stage:  When obstacles and battles knock you down. The Climb Stage:  When you are climbing out of The Pit. The Flow Stage:  When you are in the zone. The Impact Stage:  When you become a hero and help others through The Pit. When you find yourself in the middle of battles and stuck in the pit, you have three options: Become a hero, a villain, or a victim. Victims make excuses and stay stuck in The Pit, while heroes and villains ...

Landry Fields played 5 seasons in the NBA and is the GM of the Atlanta Hawks. In an interview with Brett Ledbetter and What Drives Winning, he says when working with his young guys, he likes to map out a journey of development that everyone goes through that is a mix of The 4 Stages of Competence and The Hero’s Journey. The 4 Stages of Competence is a model that describes the learning process, including the inevitable need to overcome struggles and obstacles. He says this helps bring language to our experiences and the feelings that come with those feelings. Here are the 4 stages: Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence: Blind Confidence You have blind confidence because you don’t know what you don’t know, and your excitement and innocence have not been tarnished by struggle or reality. This is like a rookie being drafted into the NBA or someone getting a new, great opportunity. Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence: No Confidence He calls this The Fall. When you face obstacles and adversity, you ...