The Knowing-Doing Gap: training doesn't necessarily translate into results

In my last article, I spoke about A, B and C-type goals; I noted that a C-type goal is one that scares you, excites you and inspires you at the same time; a C-type goal also causes you to grow. One of the most relevant points of my previous article about goals was the fact that when you begin to go after a C-type goal, you don't know how to reach it; if you do know how to reach it, then it isn't a C-type goal. Going after a C-type goal requires crashing through your “terror barrier,” as Bob Proctor calls it, even though you don't know exactly how to reach it and you feel inadequate and unprepared. So many of us never get moving toward our C-type goals because we think we don't know enough. However, you already know enough to get started; any knowledge that you lack can be learned along the way. In reality, there is a huge gap between what you already know and what you are currently doing. If you want to be successful, you have to bridge this knowing-doing gap. (You can read the previous article here: (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/what-difference-between-goal-b-c-matthew-t-ray)

Our Obsession with Formal Education

Our society rewards people for knowing things. Our parents encourage us to go to school and learn as much as possible, in order to get good grades. When we finish secondary school, the general belief is that if we want to be successful in life, we have to attend university; and the more prestigious the university, the better. In the US, many students accumulate tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) of dollars in debt, just to get a university degree, since they assume that it's the key to a successful life; but in reality, having a university degree doesn't guarantee anything. In fact, after you begin working, the university degree becomes secondary. If I'm going to hire you, I want to know what you have done, more than what you know or what degrees you have; I look at your work-record more than your study-record. In school you are praised for what you know, rather than what you do. But, in “real life,” what you do counts much more than what you know.

Throughout history there have been cases of highly successful people who had very little or no formal education, or were "bad in school." Some examples are Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Mary Kay Ash, Henry Ford, Maya Angelou and Christopher Columbus. We can also find people with doctoral degrees who are struggling in life, not only financially but in other areas. Knowing a lot is a good thing (and education is very important), but it's not enough. We can learn a lot and still have a feeling of not knowing enough, which keeps us from moving forward toward our C-type goals. In general, the world needs more action, not more knowledge. There is a gap between what we know, and what we do.

Corporate Training and the Knowing-Doing Gap

Many companies discover the knowing-doing gap when they spend money on training and see very little change in their employees' performance. In 2017, US companies spent more than $90 billion (ninety-thousand million dollars) on professional training. Some studies have shown that only 10% of corporate training is effective. This lack of effectivity comes from the knowing-doing gap. If you don't apply what you know there is no change; there is no transformation.

The objective of most corporate training programs is to develop and change the behaviour of individuals and teams. Changing behaviour is more challenging than it sounds because you have to change paradigms, which are groups of habits that are lodged in our subconscious mind; and paradigms cannot be changed overnight. (I will cover paradigms in more detail in my next article.)

Get Started even if you don't Know how to reach your goal

Due to the fear of not knowing enough and a general feeling of inadequacy, most people never get started on their C-type goals; and getting started is the most important phase. As Lao Tzu once said, "the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step."

What many people do in lieu of getting started, is getting prepared. They think to themselves, "I need more knowledge because I don't know exactly how to do this. Maybe I need an MBA or some other degree. I need to create a detailed plan and read a few books that will help me know more about what I want to do…" This attitude of preparation is not a bad thing, but in most cases people never get started because they never feel completely prepared to go after a C-type goal; so, due to fear and feelings of inadequacy, many people carry their inspiring C-type goals to their grave, which is a shame. Someone once said, "the majority of humans tip-toe through life trying to make it safely to death." Don’t let that happen to you; get started on your C-type goal and don’t worry about the risk. Crash through the terror barrier! You'll be glad you did.

The Universe will lend you a hand

You don't need to know everything about reaching your C-type goal to get started. As you move toward your goal, the universe will lend you a hand. You will see that things suddenly start to fall into place for you; you'll meet someone, unexpectedly, who can help you with something you are struggling with. You'll stumble across some information, which you weren't aware of before, that opens a new door. An opportunity that will help you move more quickly toward your goal suddenly presents itself. It will begin to feel like your C-goal is moving toward you rather than you toward the goal; but you won't feel that until you start moving toward your goal. The first step is making an unequivocal decision to go after your C-type goal. When you act, the universe reacts; it's one of the laws of the universe: action/reaction.

You don't need more education, another degree, more knowledge, a better, more detailed plan; you need to get started! ?A por ello!