It's our blessing & curse ... [🐝U]

When was the last time you got in your car to run one quick errand…

…& ended up halfway to the wrong destination before you realized it?

You weren’t thinking.
You weren’t deciding.

You were just running on autopilot.

& that’s exactly how most people underestimate themselves.

At some point, not long after you started the car,
your auto-pilot kicked in & you have no idea how you got there

If you’re lucky, you realize on the way.
(I once spent an hour driving West towards Jasper instead of South to Calgary, just because 99% of the time that’s the direction I headed)

I’m willing to bet you a Billion Dollars that you never ever would have said that would happen when you were first learning to drive

 Just the opposite … especially when you were taking your driving test!

 Autopilot isn’t just for your driving

Just like driving, much of our lives run on auto-pilot after we’ve done things long enough.

& that’s exactly why we stop noticing what we’re actually capable of.

The woman who had “No Experience”

I was coaching a woman once who wanted to earn money writing.

Writing had always an interest of hers

But she didn’t do anything with it professionally
In fact, she didn’t do anything professionally … she was a stay-at-home mom

Never had a job … not even part-time during school for some extra spending money

She went from high school graduate to a wife & soon after, became a mother
& now with the kids grown, her husband passed, she wanted to explore writing

She didn’t think anyone would take her seriously.

“No experience,” she said.
No resume.
No job history.
No credentials.
No proof.

At least … that’s what she believed.

So I started asking questions …
Because I knew there was more to the story than she was sharing.

Turns out her husband passed years ago
She raised her kids as a single mom… on a farm
& she home-schooled them all the way into college

Usually, when I hear stories about kids, at some point the wording changes.

→ My son / daughter
→ my oldest / youngest son /daughter
→ or they’ll start using their names

But she kept saying kids
So I asked how many kids she had.

She paused.
“Twelve.”

Not 2.
Not 4.

12 human beings.

Raised.
Homeschooled.
Fed.
Mentored.
Launched into college.

Alone.

A dozen kids!

That she raised & homeschooled … alone
While living on a farm

& they all got into college!
Not 1 juvenile delinquent or dropout among them

Let’s break that down.
→ 12 personalities.
→ 12 emotional worlds.
→ 12 schedules.
→ 12 learning styles.

That’s NOT “no experience.”

That’s executive-level operations management.

While managing a farm!

I’m exhausted just thinking about it

So what does this have to do with you?

We’re probably past the point where you’re wondering where all this is going

& thinking what does driving a car on auto-pilot have anything to do with a single mom looking to start her work-life in her 50s

 There’s actually a scientific explanation for this.

Your brain has two operating modes

In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explains our 2 ways of thinking:
→ Slow thinking — deliberate, effortful, conscious
→ Fast thinking — automatic, effortless, instinctive

When you’re learning something new, everything is slower than molasses in winter.
Every step requires attention.

But with repetition, it becomes automatic.

& you stop “thinking” about it at all.

It frees up mental energy.
It lets you juggle more responsibilities.
It’s how experienced people make hard things look easy.

Imagine needing to stop & focus on thinking & willing your hands to tie your shoes.
Then think about all the other things that would need your full attention JUST to get to the point of putting shoes on to leave your house.

Without this ability to learn something to the point of being automatic, we wouldn’t have survived the saber-toothed tiger stalking us behind the bushes

All this fast thinking is a blessing
& a trap.

When your strength becomes a blind spot

All that feeds into the “Curse of Knowledge” …

You’ve done something for so long, it’s second nature
& you “forget” what it was like when you first got started

You don’t see it as a skill.
Because to you … it’s just normal.

You’ve done it so long it feels basic.
Obvious.
Ordinary.
Nothing special.

But ordinary to you
is transformational to someone else.

That’s the curse.

Competence hides itself.
& that’s your blind spot.

& this is where it quietly kills businesses before they ever start.

Not lack of skill or experience.

But the belief that what you know isn’t valuable enough.

That’s the real thief.

Why it hits entrepreneurs hardest

The longer you’ve been doing something…
the harder it is to see your own value.

This is the curse of competence.

When you’re dreaming of starting your business:
→ You stop seeing your expertise in everything in life.
→ You assume “everyone knows this.”
→ Or worse, don’t believe anyone would pay you for it

You downplay what you’ve built.
I see it constantly.

Like the single mom … you’re thinking:
“I don’t really have anything special.”

Then casually mention something that makes your jaw drop
& you’re sitting there thinking…
“Wait… what? That’s huge.”

I’m willing to bet you’ve been on the receiving end of those jaw drops
& have brushed it off as “no big deal”

That’s not “nothing.”

That’s earned perspective.

You don’t lack value.
You lack distance.

You’re standing inside your own brilliance,
So all you see are the walls.

All that value is the fast thinking…
Your Curse of Knowledge (& competence)

You don’t see it because your brain’s focusing on what you don’t know “intuitively”

If you’re struggling to articulate what you offer, it might not be a marketing issue.

It might be that you’ve normalized & downplayed your own brilliance.

Time to stop.
Here’s your first step

How to break the curse

Here’s what you need to do.

Not tomorrow.
Not when you “feel ready.”

Right now.

Grab a sheet of paper.

Write down everything you’ve done in your life.
Not titles.
Not labels.

Experiences.

Then translate each one into the skills it required.

This is where your blind spots get exposed.

Your jobs, volunteer roles, hobbies, parenting, caregiving, community work, etc
Write the skills each thing requires.

Not what you did…
but what you had to become capable of doing.

“Stayed home with kids” becomes:
→ Project manager
→ Negotiator
→ Crisis responder
→ Teacher
→ Logistics coordinator
→ Emotional support specialist

You don’t lack skills & experience.

You’ve just been “cursed” with fast-thinking knowledge.

You’re not behind.
You’re not underqualified.
You’re not starting from zero.

You’re standing on years of invisible expertise.
The blessing built it.

The curse hid it.

Now it’s your move.

It’s time to turn your curse into your advantage.

Make it a great “curse-busting“ week!
EG

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