W.I.N. Wednesday: The Bridge Between Knowing and Doing
"It's not knowing what to do, it's doing what you know."
Tony Robbins
During a recent Dare to Be Great leadership workshop one of the participants asked a great question about bridging the gap between what we know and what we do.
Many of us are Knowers, but not Doers. We attend a seminar or workshop, listen to a podcast or watch a webinar and keep saying to ourselves, "I know that." At the end of the event we walk away thinking, there was nothing new there.
You are right. There is nothing new because there has not been an original thought for 200 years or more. What we all know we got from someone else. As a speaker and trainer your mission is to connect the dots for people in the audience and help them understand how the thoughts, ideas, tactics and strategies you are teaching can be applied in their world.
In his powerful book Resilience, Eric Greitens tells us to, “Approach each day as if you have something new to learn. Your task is not to begin in a noble place, but to end up in one." He then goes on to remind us, “Deciding is not doing, and wanting is not choosing. Transformation will take place not because of what you decide you want, but because of what you choose to do.”
The bridge between knowing and doing is action. Small daily actions. Acting on the commitment to always be a little better tomorrow than you are today.
Too often we get fired up during seminars and workshops when someone challenges us to go out and change the world. It is inspiring in the moment, but daunting and often overwhelming when we reflect on it later.
Rather than asking yourself, "How can I change the world?", ask yourself Dr. Robert Cooper's question, "What is the smallest change that can make the biggest difference." Once you answer that question take action on that small item. When you complete that action ask the question again.
The next time you attend a training class, seminar or workshop before you leave complete these four steps:
- Write down your top two or three takeaways from the session.
- Write down one action you will commit to take based on just one of those takeaways.
- Write down the name of the person you will share that action step with so they can serve as your accountability partner.
- Take out your phone and text or e-mail them to let them know you will be contacting them within 24 hours to share your action item. If they have not heard from you in 24 hours have them contact you.
Without a commitment to small action steps we will remain stuck in "knower" mode and fail to do what we know.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com
Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?
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