The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Why Feeling Stuck Means You’re Growing

I’m currently writing this from my cabin in TN, where my husband Brian and I are spending most of the week working on our cabin ‘refresh’ after not having any luck selling it last year (you can read about that whole saga in Part 1 and Part 2, ugh).

Tomorrow the new countertops and couches arrive (yay!), but after what I found while cleaning out one of the closets this morning (accompanied by lots of shrieking on my part), I’ve been spending most of the day seriously questioning my decision to ever invest in real estate. 😱🤣 But I do look forward to sharing the before and after photos soon!

And speaking of having those moments of crisis and questioning one’s life choices, Caitlin and I were talking to one of our clients last week who said she had started feeling particularly dumb around finances, with so many terms she didn’t know and so many more options to potentially pursue. Although it seems counterintuitive, this is actually a REALLY GOOD sign!

Learning something new almost always follows the Dunning-Kruger Effect; early learning brings a rush of confidence, followed by the humbling “Valley of Despair,” when we become aware of the limits of our knowledge. That moment of humility is what makes true learning possible and allows us to climb toward real wisdom.

I went through this when I first learned to play guitar in my 20s; I learned 3 chords and decided to throw a party where I was the sole musical entertainment. (This is horribly embarrassing for me to look back on, and I apologize profusely to anyone who happened to be in attendance!) 😳

As I continued to get better at the guitar, I finally started to realize how much I still had to learn. I spent awhile being discouraged and frustrated in the Valley of Despair, but have pushed forward through the years to the point where I’m now a less mediocre player (an improvement!!).

This same pattern happened to me with investing. When I taught my first Investing 101 workshop back in 2019, I knew enough to be dangerous, but had no idea how much there still was to learn. And unfortunately I felt like enough of an ‘expert’ to invest in things I had no business investing in at the time, like alternatives, complicated commercial real estate deals, businesses, and private debt. I ended up in the Valley of Despair with a bruised ego and a much emptier bank account.

But the thing to keep in mind is that by the time you are feeling like a total idiot, you are already well on your way along the path to becoming an expert. You have conquered the initial overconfidence, pushed through the Valley of Despair, and are now heading back up the curve of enlightenment. I now know what to look for when evaluating complicated investments and ALSO have the humility not to invest in things I don’t completely understand.

Our client had spent the past year in our Abundance Circle program, exploring new financial concepts, making new investments, and pushing through some discomfort, but she came out on the other side with a newfound understanding of her situation and her options. And although ‘not knowing everything’ was frustrating at times, it opened a door to a whole new world of financial understanding and wealth growth. Feeling like an idiot is just all part of the path, and a sign that you are making good progress.

If you are ready to make the push forward towards your own financial enlightenment, check out our newly revamped “Wealth by Design” program. We’ve made it entirely self-paced to bring down the price so it’s affordable to everyone. You’ll walk away knowing exactly where your money is going, how to grow it with sustainable strategies, and how to create income streams that support more time, choice, and peace in your life.