One Key Reason You Aren’t Reaching Your Goals (And How to Fix It)
I had a discussion with a friend recently. He told me, “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they’re not.” (Attributed to Yogi Berra)
Don’t worry, it took me a few times for it to really sink in, too.
Ideas and theories and insights fascinate me. Reading has always been one of my favorite pastimes and I have learned from almost every book I have ever read.
In fact, I read so much during my middle school years that my parents got concerned and grounded me from books for an entire summer. Not being able to read was the hardest punishment I have ever received.
After that summer, I started paying attention to things around me. I started to realize how few friends I had to play with. I started listening to conversations and realizing I had nothing to contribute on my own that I hadn’t read about in a book.
I realized I wanted to be popular, and we all know how well that goes over in middle school. It didn’t work well.
However, that incredibly difficult summer that led to several difficult years of trying to fit in, also led to one of the biggest lessons I’ve ever learned.
Knowledge vs Wisdom
The difference between the physical and the abstract can seem pretty obvious. You can touch one, the other you can’t. However, often these terms are translated into “knowledge” and “wisdom.”
While both definitions include experience, wisdom involves perspective rather than simply knowing a fact or how to do something.
When we study, we are able to gain knowledge. Sometimes, we are even able to gain wisdom. However, when we actually live through and experience, we are able to see things with a deeper view. There is always increased wisdom that comes from experience rather than simply studying a certain topic.
Take, for example, studying a sport. Easy example. You could learn all of the physics of how to throw a baseball, but that doesn’t mean you will be an amazing pitcher until you get outside and start throwing a ball.
You can have the physical know-how from years of throwing a ball, and you can have the know-how from the physics side of things.
However, rather than making this an either-or statement, think of how much more powerful the pitcher is who has both. This gives that additional perspective that gives wisdom.
The wisdom would not come from just one form of knowledge, but the combination of both.
Keep in mind that one type of knowledge may be good on its own, but when combined with a different type of knowledge, it can become even more powerful.
Having both physical and abstract knowledge is where true wisdom lies.
How to Apply This to Goals
As much as we study in college, watch real-life examples, and try to reach our goals, we often fall short.
Why?
Most of the time, it’s because we AREN’T ACTUALLY DOING THE THING!
Other times, if you are doing the thing, we AREN’T GRASPING THE PRINCIPLES!
True success comes from a combination of both types of skills. Without them both, we may have some success here and there, but it can be hit and miss. We are only half-assing our way towards our goals, rather than sprinting full force.
We may feel like we are sprinting. We can be putting in so much effort, only to feel like we are running around in circles.
If we take this to the natural world and see it in action, watching a cheetah can teach us a lot.
Cheetahs are incredibly fast animals, we all know this. But they are not able to maintain such high speeds for a long period of time. To have a successful hunt, they know they need to get close to their prey. They have to do some prep work, which often takes patience before they can do the thing and sprint towards their meal.
Which are you missing?
So if repeatable success comes from both study and action, which are you missing? Are you doing the thing, running around in circles, barely able to squeeze enough out of each day to survive?
Or are you stuck in study mode, constantly researching, constantly learning, never ready to go, and do the thing?
Both are very real problems, I’ve been stuck in both. How do you achieve balance?
There are times I charge ahead, feeling like a bull in a china shop, breaking every valuable piece, and making a mess, but gaining a little traction. Other times, I am so stuck in study mode that I forget to actually take action.
The Life-Changing Difference
The single best way I’ve found to gain wisdom is to find others who have the wisdom we seek. Working with a teacher or mentor can infinitely accelerate our rate of success.
They have done the work and taken action. They have studied and seen the principles that cause success to be repeated.
Best of all, they can tell you when you are getting stuck in one mode or another. They can kick you into gear, or they can slow you down to show you where to be more effective.
Sometimes this happens just speaking with mentors who speak at events that I go to.
To gain a bit of perspective, we need someone who can see outside of ourselves and our little bubble of biased beliefs. Never have I had more success and more constant success than when I have a mentor who is willing to kick me into gear or slow me down to explain things.
Both are essential.
Now What?
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