"For the cause!" or Why do we know everything, but do not do?

The business example can be used to look at the gap between “know” and “do”. There are companies that are exploring different ways to improve their work, they hire trainers and consultants, they run endless seminars, they launch new growth programs every year … But nothing changes. They know what to improve, but they don't really implement it.

Why is the implementation so difficult? How translate knowledge into action? What is stopping us, what is stopping us from bridging this chasm between knowledge and action?

Action vs Inaction

You don't have to be a great scientist or a psychologist to know what prevents us from taking action. Everything is quite simple:

If you want to lose weight, eat fewer high-calorie foods and exercise more.
If you want to be healthier, eat vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits and cereals.
Want to be in good shape -.
Want to write a book - write it, damn it!
If you want to learn a foreign language or learn to play an instrument, practice more.

But all of the above that we know and must do, we don't … Here's what we're doing instead:

We read about various programs and installations.
We talk a lot about this.
We put off important things and do something else.
We feel guilty for not doing anything and try not to think about it.
Finally, we dare to take action, so we read and speak again, read and speak even more.

To read is not to do (unless your goal is to read more, of course). Talk - don't do (unless you want to learn business communication or become).

Action is action. No other is given.

So, what prevents us from performing this action? Here, too, everything is pretty simple.

Little nuance that stops us

Something is happening that prevents us from doing what we know. It doesn't lie on the surface. This is a kind of sacrament. We all have it, but occasionally one of us knows what to do with it, and worse, admits its existence.

This is fear.

Why don't you finish reading a chapter or finish your blog post and instead go and check your email or Facebook or Twitter account? Because you are afraid of failure. You’re afraid you’ll fail. You are afraid of the task because you don't know where to start.

Why do you eat fried foods and not vegetables, for example? You are afraid of change. Be afraid of possible inconveniences. You are afraid to look stupid when all your friends are eating fried potatoes and spicy chicken wings, and you are crunching carrots and cabbage.

Why don't you talk to your partner when difficulties arise in your relationship? Afraid of being rejected, looking stupid, or hurting your pride?

"For the cause!" or Why do we know everything but don’t do it?

Why don't you leave those who treat you badly? Are you afraid of loneliness or admit that there was no love? The mere thought that you might look stupid when your family and friends find out that you have failed in another relationship scares you.

We are afraid and therefore we do brilliant things to to avoid of what scares us.

We are afraid that we will not be able to cope with the role of writer, blogger, teacher, coach, runner, guitarist, manager, leader, mom or dad, in the end, and involuntarily create all kinds of things to avoid failure. We do not sabotage ourselves, but try to help us not to do what we think could harm us.

Finding ways to avoid this harm is not difficult for us. We are ready for anything, and then we wonder: why can't we do what we have to ?! Therefore, in order to get down to business, we need to overcome our fear.

Get down to business

We're going to conquer the fear of taking action. The only way to do this, oddly enough, is to get started. Here's the plan … Don't just read it, do it!

1. Learn by doing. Reading alone will not teach you anything. Of course, reading is useful only if after reading you start to act. They don't learn from conversations. We just talk, talk … Start doing something. You can talk in the process. Take action, and then you will figure out what gaps to fill in, where and how to move on.

2. Make a list of your fears. If you have problems with the implementation of your plan, then you are afraid of it. What really scares you? What are you afraid to blunder? List your fears. Making a list of fears is already an action.

3. Now let go of your fears. Afraid to do gymnastics? Just do some exercise for 2 minutes. Just two minutes and you'll be free. 2 minutes of exercise is not scary at all. Avoid learning a foreign language like Spanish? Watch a movie in Spanish for two minutes, listen to Spanish music, or listen to someone's podcast. By doing something in such small portions, you will realize that it is not at all scary.

4. Think of failure as an element of learning. We are terribly afraid of stumbling and failing, and we take it as cowardice. But this is not the case. Failure is an indicator of our ability to learn. Errors are an integral part of the learning process. If you know something perfectly or do something excellent, then you simply have nothing to learn. First you have to stumble, then start over, and finally succeed. Sometimes you will have to stumble more than once. Errors are an opportunity. An opportunity to get better.

5. Correct and do more. To act is to make mistakes, learn from your mistakes, correct them and move on. If you slip up on something, figure out how to fix it and try again. A new attempt may be better than the previous one, if not, try to solve the issue in a slightly different way. Try again and again until you succeed, and only then can you move on to a new stage. There is no one-size-fits-all plan of action without mistakes. You must start acting yourself and get a key skill - the ability to overcome difficulties and move on.

Fear is not a decisive factor in our life. He should not dictate how we should live. It's just a nasty little voice at heart that tries to control us and avoid any discomfort. But we can understand and accept the fact that the difficulties are not as terrible as they seem at first glance. This is just learning something new, climbing to new heights, moving to new levels.

You can conquer fear. Get started now!

Photo:,