Thinkin' you suck may be likened to thinkin' you're greater than the kittens mittens. Deflating self deprication is just as harmful as self destructive narcissism. That's because anytime you use the word "suck" about yourself.. your psyche believes you.

Oh Si, how all the trees belong & even that weeds in the garden have a place. =)

And being overly self-critical does seem to be something of a human condition. I know I suffer from it.

I prefer aiming for, in terms of learning, the analogy of teaching a child to ride a bike — rather than criticism, to provide oneself patience, gentle correction, endless support.

I think what adds to the confusion is the many meanings of the words conscious/unconscious. I've used them purely in terms of awareness. First you're not aware that you don't actually suck as much as you used to (stepping up from conscious incompetence). Then finally you're aware that you don't suck.

Above you've used "paying attention/working" in terms of being conscious, & "embedded knowledge" in terms of being unconscious.

[Yes, it took 10 minutes of thinking to get this all clear in my head *grin*]

That said — you do make a very good point — that you're never going to rise above incompetence without a lot of work, paying attention, thinking & trying hard.

I would argue that even at the peak performance levels, you still need to be working hard — more specifically, practicing hard. There are many examples from sports that support this. Michael Jordan was famed for always training longer & harder than anyone else — even at the top of his game. Tiger Woods still hits hundreds of practice balls a day.. and so on. A lot of the fundamentals are definitely embedded very deeply — & they do become unconscious behaviours (as you point out) — but there is still definitely that need for conscious attention.

"Expectations always exceed your ability" I've also heard as "Your reach always exceeds your grasp" — but I like your way better. Makes more sense to me :)

I would have put conscious competence before unconscious competence. Conscious competence you suck less if you try hard and think about it. Unconscious competence you suck less because you don't have to try hard and think about it.

I also heard "your expectations always exceed your ability", I suppose if you don't want to get any better, it's time to stop training.