Improve Your Life: Four Strategies to Bridge the Gap Between Knowledge and Action

How many times have you found yourself saying, I know what I need to do, I just don't know how to get started, or where to begin.

It is wonderful to have knowledge. Having knowledge improves your cognitive function, provides you with problem solving skills, and aids in decision making processes. However when embarking upon a wellness journey a common hurdle often arises- the disconnect between knowledge and putting your knowledge to action. For many the gap between knowing and doing stays disconnected and broken.

Today I am going to provide you with four strategies to bridge the gap between knowing and doing so that you can have continued success with your wellness journey, and reaching your goals. I will share four strategies to stop you from just knowing and thinking, and help you with action and doing.

STRATEGY 1: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ACKNOWLEDGE

• Accept

• Come to Terms With

• Recognize

• Admit to be True

When you are trying to improve your overall well-being; it is important to start ACKNOWLEDGING what habits and behaviors on a daily basis are negatively impacting your life. When you don't set healthy boundaries and guardrails surrounding your mental, spiritual, physical, and nutritional health this can negatively impact your overall wellbeing.

Some common examples of behaviors in yourself and others that can negatively impact your overall wellbeing:

• Investing all your time and energy into your career and not prioritizing any time for self care activities (movement, exercise, and whole food based meals).

• Wearing the identity hat of a parent or professional 24/7 and neglecting your passions and interests outside of parenthood and your career. You would rather feel burnt out than be labeled by others as "selfish."

• Allowing your loved ones interests and hobbies to take precedence over yours. You shove your favorite hobbies and interests to the side for fear of coming off as a "burden" or "overbearing" to those you love most.

• Partaking in negative deposit nutritional and fitness habits because of excuses like not having enough "time" or being "too busy."

• Being closed off about your perspective on topics that matter to you- you avoid expressing your theories, opinions, and feelings about what you value for fear of rejection or appearing as "overly opinionated."

• Lacking healthy boundaries with your priorities, obligations, and commitments. You find yourself pouring into everything, but accomplishing nothing at the same time.

• Difficulty confronting or expressing to someone that their words are negatively impacting your emotions and feelings. This continues to leave you feeling misunderstood, resentful, and alienated from those you care about most.

If any of these above examples resonate with you, it is important to acknowledge when your personal or interpersonal behaviors, communications, and actions are negatively impacting your overall wellbeing.

Too often we lack the confidence within ourselves to stand up for our beliefs, morals, and values. Instead of acknowledging something is off or negatively impacting our overall wellbeing, we suppress or bury our emotions and hold the negative energy inside. We fear that others will reject us or look differently at us if our morals, values, and belief systems don't align with theirs.

However, continued suppression of our own emotions, and refusing to process our negative thoughts, emotions, and how others are making us feel can create a negative spiral to our happiest selves. We begin participating in internal and externally directed feelings of anger, jealousy, feeling misunderstood, isolated, drained, emotionless, and discontent with life.

When we practice ACKNOWLEDGEMENT on a daily basis with our behaviors, actions, and habits in our internal and external world we are creating a healthy, safer, and happier space that better aligns with our ideal self.

We need to acknowledge not only when our own behaviors and habits are negatively impacting our overall wellbeing, but when others are too. You can't change how other people treat you, but you have the power to acknowledge people's behaviors, and set healthy boundaries and guardrails around personal relationships that do not pour into your overall wellbeing.

When you start practicing acknowledgement in your daily life- you will see your world transform in a positive way. You will have energy and time to invest in yourself, especially with your nutritional and physical health. Too often we allow low priority hanging fruit take a hold of our life, and the high priority habits and behaviors that pour into our wellbeing get neglected. So acknowledging the things in life that "take away" from you is the first step to a happier, healthier self.

STRATEGY 2: ALIGNMENT

ALIGN

• Supports

• In Agreement With

• Connect With
  

When we acknowledge in ourselves and others what daily behaviors, habits, and actions are not pouring into our ideal self, we become authentic in our values, morals, and beliefs. This allows you to pursue habits, behaviors, choices, and actions that positively deposit and are in ALIGNMENT with our overall wellbeing.

How do you find alignment?

You start by asking yourself in the present moment does this support the life I'm trying to live, and feel "charged" or does this negatively impact my life and make me feel "drained."

When we give ourselves the power of presence to practice Acknowledgement of our habits on a daily basis; we welcome the practice of alignment with open arms. For example- When we begin acknowledging that the daily habit of eating fast food is not healthy for someone trying to lose fat and feel more energized, we recognize that this habit does not "support" or "align" with a person trying to live a healthier lifestyle. To really align with our ideal self and healthier self we would need to start acknowledging what healthier habits and behaviors would look like. To align with a healthier lifestyle; instead of eating fast food everyday, we would align our behaviors and habits to a diet consisting of more whole food based food items. You will never be able to find alignment if you don't practice acknowledgement in the first place.

So make sure you are asking yourself on a daily basis: Does this support the lifestyle I'm trying to live?

If it doesn't what changes can I make to ALIGN better with my ideal self.

STRATEGY 3: ACTION

When we acknowledge our daily habits and behaviors are not in alignment with who we aspire to be, we are taking a step in the right direction of improving our overall wellbeing.

Practicing through the lens of acknowledgement and alignment with our daily behaviors, habits, values, and morals gives us the freedom to start taking ALIGNED ACTIONS with who we aspire to be. We should be active and always looking to keep alignment with our happiest and highest self through our daily behaviors and habits everyday. Being active and taking positive actions towards our ideal selves will shift our identity into the person we aspire to be.

We aren't going to feel happy all day everyday, but we can take action to practice healthy habits and behaviors that align with our happiest and highest self. Repeated positive actions and habits in alignment with our goal self will continue to positively impact our wellbeing. Contrary to that- if we ignore our negative deposit habits, behaviors, and how others negatively impact us- we continue moving away from our ideal self, and we are not practicing the strategies of acknowledgment and alignment.

So make sure to monitor the actions that you take on a daily basis. Your daily habits, behaviors, intra and interpersonal relationships, profession, exercise and nutrition all pour into or take away from your ideal self.

"When we acknowledge we are not aligned with the person we want to be, we allow ourselves to recognize and take action to be all that we can be"

STRATEGY 4: ACCOUNTABILITY AND MENTORSHIP

When we start implementing the above three strategies we have the power, tools, and resources to find alignment with our wellness goals, our overall wellbeing, and improved habits. However, many of us fail to stay consistent on our own. Research article after research article has proven time and time again the importance of accountability, and the importance of mentorship in your pursuit to improving your life.

When you have accountability you not only have to show up for yourself, but someone else. This lessens the likelihood of making false narratives and excuses for yourself. So if you feel like you have been given all the knowledge, tools, and resources; and have acknowledged what habits and behaviors you need to practice to align with your goals, but are still struggling to follow through you need accountability in your life. A coach, a friend, or a loved one can be there to check in and make sure you are taking aligned actions with your goals.

On the other hand- if you are have acknowledged your out of alignment with your goals, but you are unsure and don't have all the knowledge to reach your goals- you may need mentorship. Mentorship will provide you with the tools, resources, and knowledge to be able to "know" what you need to do. So many people think they have all the tools and resources, but don't realize they are still "stuck" because they don't have all the knowledge needed to solve the problem and make solutions.

So the last strategy to bridge the gap between "knowing and doing" is to make sure you have mentorship and accountability to take ALIGNED ACTION with your ideal self.

I hope these strategies help you find alignment with your highest and happiest self. It is important to close in on the gap between knowing and doing by practicing and pursuing:

• Acknowledgement with your daily habits/behaviors (positive and negative)

• Aligning your daily habits and behaviors with your goals

• Action repetitively, consistently, and in alignment with your goals

• Accountability and Mentorship to bridge the gap between "knowing and doing"

Much Love,

Jay