Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here!
“Knowing” is oceans apart from “Doing”
I can tell from my own experiences. There are so many things I know I should do but have not done yet.
It is not simply procrastination. It is worse!
Procrastination happens when we actually know and plan to do certain things. We are delaying them because we do not like them. Most likely, we will still do them due to deadlines etc.
The gap between “Knowing” and “Doing”, more often than not, is about missing the actions naturally.
We do not even realize we should be doing something at a certain point of time.
It involves changing our habit and way of doing things.
For example, I know, when an audience asks me a question, it is better for me to clarify the question and understand where he is coming from before I respond. However, 9 out of the 10 times, I still respond directly based on my assumptions.
At the moment of the question, it does not even cross my mind that I need to clarify and confirm my understanding.
This is just one of the million scenarios where “Knowing” does not lead to “Doing”
This is because “Knowing” and “Doing” happen at different levels in our mind.
“Knowing” happens in our “Consciousness” while “Doing” instructions come from our “Subconscious”.
“Doing” naturally happens without pass through “Consciousness” and therefore, “Knowing” is powerless in affecting “Doing”.
So how?
We need to plant a “Trigger” in our mind.
A “Trigger” is a “if…then…” program so deeply planted in our mind that it also happens naturally without the need to pass through “Consciousness”.
First, “if…” is a scene. The key here is to be very very specific, so that our mind can capture it immediately when it happens.
How specific? Specific enough to allow us to picture it in our mind.
For example, when someone says “Why is it….”, “Would it be right to say…”, “How can it be…”. Try to picture it in our mind how the scene could be like.
Second, “then…” is an action. The key here is to be very very simple, so that we can complete it with minimal efforts.
How simple? As simple as one sentence or a gesture.
For example, “Do you mean…” or put my hand on my jaw and say “interesting”.
Once the “Trigger” is in place, we have achieved consistency in “Knowing” and “Doing”!
However, we should avoid getting greedy in deploying this technique.
I suggest to try to establish no more than two “Triggers” during any given period of time.
Once they are fully planted, we can then move on to new ones and become better selves.
This is because the process of “planting the trigger” is tiring. Constant efforts are needed to inject the program into our “Subconscious”, basically forming a new habit.
Hope we all can narrow the gap between “Knowing” and “Doing”.
Till next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment