November 13, 2008

The Knowing-Doing Gap... How To Bridge It

In This Issue:

Feature Article: "The Knowing-Doing Gap... How To Bridge It"

Quick Tips: "How To Tackle Those Big, Hairy Tasks..."

Fast Facts: "Who's Happier - Men or Women?"

* FEATURE ARTICLE *

“The Knowing-Doing Gap... How To Bridge It”

We all know what we’re supposed to do… whether it relates to improving our health, growing our businesses, getting ahead in our careers, enjoying our personal lives… and so on.

So why don’t we do it?

Perhaps we do some of what we’re supposed to do… but why don’t we do those other – critical – things that would really enable us to achieve our goals?

I mean, I know I should go to bed earlier than I do… but, night after night, I continue to go to bed too late. Why?

And why do you continue doing things you know you shouldn’t do… or putting off things you know you should do?

Well, taking my perpetual tendency to go to bed too late as an example, I can see two main reasons why I just can’t seem to bridge the “knowing-doing gap”:

1. When it comes choosing between staying up (and, in my case, squeezing in some extra work) and going to bed earlier… my PRIORITY is to stay up and squeeze in some extra work.

2. Staying up late has become a HABIT.

So if YOU have a knowing-doing gap… maybe it’s one or both of these drivers – priorities and habits – that keep you from changing your behaviour. In other words, when it comes down to it, unless changing your behaviour becomes a priority – one that usurps the other wants or needs that stop you from changing – you won’t change. On top of that, unless you break the habit of your current behavior… again, you won’t change.

In some cases, either a difference in priorities OR a habit may be causing the knowing-doing gap. In other cases, it might be one or the other. As such, it’s useful to work out whether it’s either or both in order to deal with what is causing the difference between what you know you should do… and what you actually do.

For example, it may be a priority for you to stop smoking, but if it’s a physical addiction (i.e. habit) that’s keeping you smoking… you’re wise to focus on breaking your habit, rather than making doing so a priority (which it may already be).

On the flip side, if the cause of your behaviour is really due to your priorities, then only by changing these will you achieve the change you think you need to make.

And in other cases, you may need to change both your priorities AND your habits.

Of course, when you realise that your knowing-doing gap is due to having certain priorities… you may decide that you’re happy with your priorities as they are, and do not wish to change your behaviour after all. In this case, you’ll also break the knowing-doing gap, because there will no longer be a gap – you WILL be doing what you think you should be doing! That may beg the question of whether your priorities are in the right order… but that’s an issue for another day.

So bottom line, if you feel you have a knowing-doing gap:

1. Work out why: is it due to priorities, habits or both?

2. If it’s due to priorities, decide whether you are willing to change them.

3. If you do want to change your behaviour, focus on changing your priorities and/or habits (as applicable).

4. If you can successfully change your priorities and/or habits… it should be EFFORTLESS to bridge the knowing-doing gap. Simply because there will NO LONGER BE AN OBSTACLE to bridging that gap.

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* QUICK TIPS *

“How To Tackle Those Big, Hairy Tasks...”

When confronted with one of those big, hairy tasks or projects, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Here’s how to get through that initial fear and get the task underway… in the most effortless way possible:

1. Break the task up into digestible chunks.

“Digestible” means digestible to YOU. If you’ve broken up the task and each chunk still seems too big… break it down further.

2. If possible, start with the EASIEST chunk first.

By tackling something easy, you’re more likely to get a “quick win” under your belt which will give you both a sense of progress being made and the confidence to forge onward.

In some cases, you may not be able to do something you perceive to be easy until you’ve completed something that appears hard. But if the task is such that you can start just about anywhere, start with the easiest thing first.

3. Take a writer’s approach.

Most writers prepare a first draft of their writing, before editing it and completing a final draft. (Some writers prepare several drafts, depending on the nature of the work). The first draft is really just a matter of getting the ideas down on paper rather than being perfect.

But by taking that approach – “just get it down for now and fix it up later” – you end up getting the hard work out of the way first. It’s much easier to edit something that’s already written, than to write it first.

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* FAST FACTS *

“Who's Happier - Men or Women?”

As cited in Shine Magazine, research published in the Journal of Happiness Studies indicates that while they tend to start out unhappier... MEN end up happier than women in later life.

The study focused on the role of unfulfilled desires in a person’s sense of wellbeing as they grow older. It found that women tend to be happier than men in early life (men are most unhappy during their 20s) but that men's overall happiness surpasses that of women after the age of 48.

There are two main drivers for the difference: family and finances. Both men and women tend to have similar general aspirations - to start and raise a family, and to be financially secure. As they age, however, women tend to become more unfulfilled than men in both areas.

By the age of 34, more men than women tend to be married, and are also more satisfied with their financially situation.

While it's NOT necessary for someone to be married or to have, say, a certain degree of financial wherewithal to be happy, the study found that as people grow older the difference between women's EXPECTATIONS about their family life and financial situation tends to lag behind REALITY, while the reverse is true for men.

(Source: "Men Happier Later in Life", HBA's Shine magazine, Issue 3, November 2008, p. 10)

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