Most of us have heard Maya Angelo’s quote. When you know better, do better.
At MYLF, you will hear us say over and over again that knowledge is POWER. It’s BECAUSE we DO have to KNOW better in order to DO better.
Any time you work with a MYLF coach, we try to give you as much knowledge as possible, so that you can have that POWER. BUT — and this is a big but — knowing better doesn’t always lead to DOING better. I don’t need science to tell me this. I am guilty of this too. We all are.
There are actually TWO steps in that statement: KNOWING and DOING. One is a mental/intellectual thing. The other is physical. You need them both, but they are not the same. I usually see 3 combinations:
First, doing the physical work but not working on the MENTAL element (learning the why, changing beliefs, etc).
Second, KNOWING the mental part. Consuming all of the videos, learning, and thinking, but not actually taking action.
Or sometimes I see both, and those are the people who have the most success. Because they achieve behavior change. They did the mindset part and the action part.
If you are in metabolism mastery, this will make more sense if you watch the mindset video on how to achieve real and lasting change.
Now, we are humans, right? Which means that even if we managed to know AND do before, sometimes we find ourselves in a place where we need to shake things up again. We KNOW, but we are DOING.
How can you take what you KNOW and turn it into ACTION?
There is a very small study in the The British Journal of Health Psychology that I want to talk about, not because it was the perfect study, but because it illustrates the problem. They took a group of 250 people, and divided them into 3 groups.
The first group was told to follow an exercise routine for the next 2 weeks. The second group was told the same thing, but they were also shown motivational videos. Finally, the third group was told the same thing, watched the same videos, but also had to complete the sentence, “I will partake in 20 minutes of vigorous exercise at ________(place) at ________ time.”
The results spoke for themselves. 38% of the people in the first group exercised ONCE a week for the next 2 weeks. 35% of the second group — the ones with the motivational videos — exercised ONCE a week for the next 2 weeks.
The third group? 91% of the ones who made a statement committing to a place and time for their workouts exercised at least once a week for the next 2 weeks.
If you are someone that WANTS to start a new habit — or break one —, feeling MOTIVATED ain’t it.
Making changes takes a LOT of consistency, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t just walk around bursting with motivation. I’m not a walking/talking motivational speech all of the time. I have moments of motivation, but the chances that that actually turns into action right then and there are very slim. I am busy; I might be tied up in that moment, and when I get free, that feeling of motivation has passed.
You cannot rely on motivation. You have to MAKE THE TIME, SET THE INTENTION, and DO IT UNMOTIVATED. Motivation will not be needed, because you have already set an appointment with yourself.
I am not MOTIVATED to go to the OBGYN/dentist/eye doctor. But I have an appointment, and I will go. I follow through because I KNOW these things are good for me.
Waking up at 3am is not an act of motivation. I do it because it is the one way I can fit the things I want in my life, like being able to pick my kids up from school and take them to their activities. If I wake up LATER, it is MY personal things that have to take a backseat, and that is just not an option for me. I am undisturbed by it honestly. It’s a choice that I make.
It’s not that I even DISLIKE those things. I’m just busy. I know that they are important, and I know that I need to make time for them, so I schedule them and make room in my calendar for them. I make the appointment and then I spend ZERO amount of energy thinking about how much I DON’T want to go, how much I will HATE it, or how much I wish I didn’t HAVE to.
If you sit around thinking about and dreading these appointments, what are you more likely to do?
Cancel the appointment! Put it off another month. Go next year. I KNOW that I need to go, but that doesn’t mean that I DO go. Knowing better does not lead to DOING better in this case because I hate it, even though I know that I need to do it for my health.
We are NEVER going to be motivated to do something that we HATE or DREAD, or brings so much anxiety with it. But if that thing that we have a bad attitude about is something that we KNOW WE NEED TO DO, and we want to make sure that we do it, we have GOT to re-work the storyline so that we spend ZERO energy trying to talk ourselves out of doing it or ONLY making time for it when we feel motivated to do it.
We have to re-work our attitude about the thing, because we are NEVER going to consistently do something that we don’t like, or something we are indifferent about, to be honest. We are just absolutely NOT going to do that thing CONSISTENTLY, which is the key to making changes.
If you HATE meal prep, you will always be too busy to meal prep. You will find a reason not to exercise if you hate it. Or if you HATE logging your food, guess who is not going to log their food consistently.
On the flip side, if you don’t like these things but are doing them because we told you too, but you still hate them and they bring a lot of stress and anxiety, then guess who is living in a constant state of stress and actually making it harder to lose weight?
If you have a bad attitude about something that is beneficial for you, you either WON’T do it or you will bring chronic stress into your life by doing it.
So what is the solution here? We have to give ourselves an ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT.
Change your MINDSET around the thing that you need to do
You have to change your attitude about it. To do that, you have to dig deeper and change your belief around it or the storyline that you have about it.
Believe it or not, some people really LOVE to cook. Some people really LOVE to workout. Some people really LOVE to go to bed early. It doesn’t mean they are motivated around the clock to do it, but it does mean that they can schedule it in and make it happen without a bunch of drama surrounding it. Because they see the value in it.
So let’s apply this today. Individually, but also knowing that as a group, we are all taking this journey over the next 7 days. In fact, I created a worksheet for you to print off and fill out. DO IT. Remember what I told you about writing your intention earlier? The success rate goes WAY up. You do not have to “turn this in” to anyone. it is for you, so be HONEST on it.
Knowing better is only half the battle—doing better is where the magic happens
To bridge the gap, you need to adjust your mindset, set clear intentions, and commit to consistent action. So, take a moment to reflect: What’s one habit you’ve been avoiding because it feels hard or uncomfortable? How can you reframe your attitude toward it and take one small step today?
If you’re ready to stop relying on motivation and start building habits that align with your goals, MYLF Coaching is here to help. Programs like The Reset are designed to guide you through the process of turning knowledge into action and creating lasting change.
Click here to learn more about MYLF Coaching and start your journey today.
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