147. The Difference Between Knowing and Doing

"Knowledge itself is power"... Sir Francis Bacon was onto something when he said this... but he's only half right in my view. Knowledge has value, sure, but the power comes from it's use. For me there are fundamental differences between Knowing something, and doing something with that knowledge. I was chatting with my buddy Graham around this subject. I won't go into the conversation, but it also coincided with my youngest having a few challenges at school. Funny how the universe speaks at times... anyway, I thought I'd share my thoughts as this is one of those topics that applies to every area of life, whether that be running an ultra or keeping your cool in a high stress situation. The mental processes are the same, and they can get difficult at times to cross the Rubicon between knowing what to do and actually doing something.

Creatures of Habit

We are hardwired for habits. It's one of the reasons we tend to thrive with routines. Anything new creates hugely increased cognitive efforts in our brains. This is why you can drive a daily commute in autopilot, with your subconscious largely at the wheel

If you notice though, when driving an unfamiliar route, your concentration levels are higher and the journey more tiring. This is because you are working a different part of your brain, creating new neural connections, and that requires more effort. This can be tiring and our brains seeks cognitive ease as it's default. This is why habits are so hard to break, no matter how much knowledge you have contrary to them.

I see this everywhere. At home, at work, with my family, in myself, etc. People in routines on autopilot behaviour. Cooking, training, studying, working, etc. Habits can be great and allow you to be productive, but they can become a problem when you want to pursue a different outcome from what you have been achieving. This is because a habit is so much easier than a change.

Knowing what to change

Saying you want change is easy. Knowing the steps you need to take to change is important. That often takes a little effort. Take my own journey to start from Zero to running 50,100, 300km. I knew little at the start and had to do a bunch of research, testing, etc to find out what could work.... But that's not enough. I know huge amounts now about training, form, physiology, rest, nutrition, etc etc... but it's worth little in reaching my goal if I don't make the changes necessary in order to USE that knowledge for my benefit.

Action - The Doing.

Action matters. Knowledge that remains in your head has little value if you don't act upon that knowledge. Knowledge without action is as useless as a condom on a eunuch. If that's the case, why is it that so often all of know what we could do, should do, and often promise we will do, differently?

Well, for one, Action is hard. As I mentioned, changing a habit or pattern of behaviour requires a considerable amount of mental effort. Our brains like ease, so to ask us to think differently requires more effort... at first. The thing is that if we start taking small actions, frequently in line with what we know, we will quickly find it easier.

I used to have to have a snack in the evening when I finally sat down to chill out. I needed to, but it was a habit. An automatic association. It was difficult at first to make dinner the last thing I ate. I would be fighting the urge to grab

some almonds, or a cut of cheese, but after a week it became easier. After two weeks I don't even think about it. It's just how I am now. It's my new habit.

Plenty of times I feel like I'm too tired to train. And at first I'd give in and not do a particular session. But this shit won't run itself, so I forced myself on the bike or on a run. Even if it was crap and slow, I was still moving forward. Taking small related consistent actions work!

What really stops us?

The effort it takes to change actions is one thing, certainly. But the real big driver that get's in the way is around the relationship we have with fear, the depth of our real desire to move forward, and how we really value ourselves.

I've known and have at times been the person who has let fear get in the way of going where I wanted to. Often we attempt to mask it, excuse why we aren't following through on taking the steps we know will move us forward. It can be highly complex - fear of failure, fear of change, etc and I have talked about fear in some depth in another post (here) so won't dwell too much on this. Another key factor that sits beneath both our fear of taking action and resistance to taking action is how we value ourselves. Let me explain... Life Reflects What We Project

Life plays everyone a different hand. For some childhood can be easy, for others it can be wildly traumatic. As we get older we can be abandoned by partners, cheated and deceived, caught up on loss of jobs/income/friends/home/etc. Lots of shit can be thrown our way and it can seem hopeless to move on. But move on we can. For me this starts with making a choice in how I value myself. I've been at lows and at highs and one thing I've noticed that the only time negative situations turned around, whether work, relationships, health, family, finances, wellbeing, etc have been when I've worked on reminding myself I am of value. Now, the minute you start to value yourself higher it doesn't mean life magically changes and it's unicorns and fairies thereon. No. There's work to do. But at the only way change can even begin is to think that we are worth more in this world.

If you don't value yourself as being further than you are today, then you will not go further. If you project, cynicism and blame for where you are it will keep you stuck. If you think you are undeserving and 'bad' then you will end up self-sabotaging (sometimes in epic fashion). Examples are declining heath, loss of finances, collapsing relationships. What we project comes back to us. If we are angry, bitter, hateful, jealous, ashamed, etc then the world will react negatively to you, giving you exactly what it thinks you want based on how you interact with it. If you want change, then you MUST believe that you are worth more than where you are today. The route isn't easy, but it is impossible to progress without it as our subconscious will thwart our actions and sabotage us in some fashion. It doesn't take much and certainly shouldn't be delusional, but if you begin to value yourself as worth more than where you are today, that you have more to give that positive (humour, help, kindness, knowledge, experience, wisdom, etc. etc.) then your life can dramatically switch for the better. You have to do the work. Look at what you can contribute to the progress of others and you will see more of your value in life. With that it will allow you to take (sometimes) uncomfortable actions that are essential to moving forward. Truly knowing you are worth 'more' allows you to put in place the 'doing' that is essential to progress towards more of what is really possible. Thanks for reading...