One of our first steps in growth is the awareness that we even need to grow. The idea that there is a God and it's not me doesn't settle into us very easily. If we really believed it were true we'd get moving on the journey of following Christ and learning His ways.

Far too often we seek God's blessings on what we're already thinking and doing, because after all, we probably do know best, right? Then we try and make God our personal valet and He doesn't seem to get a big charge out of being demoted. We call that stage Unconscious Incompetence.

Once we realize that there are things we don't know, that we're not sure how we get from being so self-centered to being God-centered, we make the move towards learning what we don't know (Conscious Incompetence).

As we readily accept Jesus as our guide we can enter Conscious Competence. The last stage is as we actually begin to want what Jesus wants in our own character and desires, we reach Unconscious Competence. In this stage we find love as our motivation, we commit to the unnoticed life, and we reach out to others for no other reason than compassion.

Colossians 2:6-7
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.