What Is The Knowing-Doing Gap?
Updated: Dec 27, 2022
What Is The Knowing-Doing Gap?
I define the knowing-doing gap as the disconnect between knowledge and action within oneself. Put more simply, it’s when you know what you’re supposed to do, but for some reason struggle to consistently do it. This gap is one of the things I talk about with my clients and nearly everyone in my life. Understanding how to identify when you’re stuck in this gap can be the difference between developing life-changing habits or remaining stagnant in life without achieving your goals.
Why Does The Knowing-Doing Gap
Exist?
Everyone asks this question because it seems so simple. Obviously, if you know how to make a positive change in your business or in your lifestyle you would do it, right? Unfortunately, that’s not always true. The knowing-doing gap exists because our internal programming allows it to exist! These paradigms dictate the way you live your life in your subconscious mind and create the opportunity for apathy. Many people even fear the success that can happen as a result of bridging the gap.
Examples Of The Knowing-Doing Gap
Example 1 – Diet and Excercise
At this point, there’s no secret about how to get in shape and stay healthy. People require a balanced, moderate diet and regular exercise to stay in shape without packing on too much extra weight. Unfortunately, the CDC conducted a study in 2017-2018 that showed over 40% of Americans were considered medically obese! Imagine yourself in this scenario, you’ve been working hard on your diet and exercise program for a week or two and seeing great results. Now, it’s early Wednesday morning and you’ve worked overtime on Monday and Tuesday. You walk past the kitchen breakroom and your coworker has brought donuts and before you’ve even thought about it, you have a donut in your hand!
You may not even remember picking the donut up, but your paradigms require that you comfort yourself with sweets. This doesn’t have to be the case!
Example 2 – Tracking Expenses
As a business owner you know you should track expenses to keep a handle on your business. This not only allows you to identify your current spending habits, it helps you recognize key opportunities for cost savings and maximize your bottom-line. Sounds like a no-brainer for business owners, however, according to one recent study, half of all small businesses didn’t have an official budget in 2020! This happens almost on accident, without the business owners really understanding why they didn’t prepare a budget or track expenses. They claim to be too busy to track expenses but may hire a sales consultant to try and increase their revenue instead of increasing their profit margin.
How To Bridge The Knowing-Doing Gap?
One of the most common things I help my clients understand is how to bridge the knowing-doing gap. To bridge this gap, people must eliminate their negative paradigms and reprogram their subconscious mind! By shifting your mindset, you allow your paradigms to work for you instead of against you. In the examples above, imagine being programmed to workout when you’re under stress instead of eat. Or imagine tracking expenses as a habit because you’re programmed to always increase your profit margin. By transforming your mindset and reprogramming your paradigms, you unlock the full potential of your subconscious.
Summary – What Is The Knowing-Do
ing Gap?
The knowing-doing gap definition I teach my clients is tha
t the gap is the disconnect between knowledge and action. This gap exists in businesses and individuals. It cripples both from achieving their goals and experiencing growth, freedom, and abundance. In the above examples we see the negative impact this gap takes on our goals and yet people struggle to move forward with seemingly simple concepts. That’s where hiring a mindset mentor or business coach can change the game. They understand how to bridge the knowing-doing gap and help people unlock the power of their mind.
If you’re interested in hiring a mindset mentor, business coach, or life coach, contact me online or give me a call at 801-550-5111. As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you have a better understanding of the knowing-doing gap and how it impacts everyone! Enjoy the ride!