By Pete Ryan
People can spend years accumulating every detail of a
practice and yet this does not lead to success. How can the army of armchair
experts on the internet know so much, and yet accomplish so little?
To answer this question we need to learn the difference
between knowing and doing, also how to translate knowledge from the theoretical
into the practical. Let’s take a simple example. Suppose you know you waste all
your time scrolling the internet, you have things to do, but you will ‘get it
done’ when you get around to it. Alternately, maybe you start something, but
get distracted and so no job is ever finished. If this sounds like you, then
maybe you have read about ‘block time’? That is putting aside a chunk of time
so you do one task within that time frame. It may look something like this:
You may know this, you may also know that structuring your
day this way may help you get everything done that needs to be done, but if you
do not apply this knowledge, then knowing it is useless baggage! What you need
to do is not just gather knowledge, the plan has to be to increase what you
know, AND find ways to put those insights into practice.
I use a similar idea to making any change. I do not try to completely
overhaul your lifestyle, simply start by making one change. In this case, if
incorporating a complete block time system would be too overwhelming, why not
pick one or 2 times and block them out, between 10-12 you will workout and
between 1-5 you will do work. Leave the rest clear, but stick to those two
times. Set an alarm or use a similar way to remind you that those times are
blocked out. From there you make changes, you can change those times if one or
the other is not enough, or you could add in a new block of some other vital
activity.
I have given you just one example, you can equally include
this to anything, let me give you an example with myself. I have had an ongoing
back issue. I trapped myself in an
‘injury cycle’, so I would train up to a certain strength level, get an injury,
recover and repeat, so my maximum strength stagnated. I knew… KNEW I had to include some core
stability movements, to increase ‘core stiffness’ during lifts (if you allow me
use of Dr Stuart McGill’s term of ‘stiffness’ for maintaining correct posture
during heavy lifting). These exercises,
like bird dog, planks, side planks are boring and time consuming, and what I
really enjoy are deadlifts, squats etc, not dull movements like planks. So, I
would do enough so the symptoms would go away and then I would begin a new
training cycle, starting light, but at a similar weight disaster would strike
again, the cycle went on for way too long. The thing is I knew better, any
client coming to me would receive very different treatment, but somehow I
thought I was special, or with me it would be different...but it isn’t and I am
not special. I need what you would need
in this situation. A few months of backing off, relearning how to engage my
core and then bringing those new skills to the table. I know that, but even
knowing that isn’t enough, you have little incentive to train if the goal is
sets of 10 second bird dog holds, but you have to get into a delayed
gratification mindset. Do I have the right to expect a heavy lift if I haven’t
earned it doing those exercises?
That is one example, but now think of your own goals and
your own actions that are limiting or even stopping those goals. Now think of
what would remedy that issue? I bet you have the solution. I suspect you
already have the answer to that dilemma, but for one reason or another you are
avoiding taking that action. The first step will be to decide why, once the why
is discerned that we can move on to solving the dilemma. You have several
courses of action:
- You know the problem and see the solution to implementing it.
- The problem is not currently soluble, so a new solution must be discovered.
- The solution is too large to implement, so break the solution into smaller steps and work towards the solution.
Those are the big 3 answers to virtually all your current
issues. If you use that as a guide you will reach results. Let’s quickly look
at these 3 option. The first is self evident, you have a solution and you can
implement it. The second is the most
difficult as it means you need to find a new way to fix the problem. The third
answer means that you need to break the problem into bite sized pieces. So, say
your goal is exercising 4 days a week, start the first month simply doing once
a week consistently, once there add days slowly until you are achieving your
goal.
Most issues you ever encounter will involve a solution you
already have the answer to so just knowing that you need to apply your current
knowledge means that half the battle is already won. Just consider the solution. Whether the problem is you do not eat enough
fresh vegetables, you do not sleep enough, or you have weak legs, you know the
answer, just put in the time to implement some changes and the results will
come.
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