Have
you ever wondered why, a lot of times, you just can’t seem to make progress in
life despite the fact that you know so much about what it takes to succeed?
There just seems to be a gap between what you know and what you actually do. I
call this The Gap Between Knowledge and Action. That is the title of this
message: The Gap Between Knowledge and Action.
Clarity
Or
rather I should say, it is a lack of clarity that keeps us stuck in a certain
pattern. By lack of clarity I mean three basic things:
-
Your fears
-
Feeling Powerless
-
Lack of Focus
Your Fears
By far the biggest obstacle to
taking action is your fears. These may be fears that you are aware of, but
quite often it is fears that you may not even be consciously aware of. For
example, like many people you might like to start a business and have a lot of
business ideas in this regard, but maybe you find yourself unable to take the
next step. Something holds you back. Until you recognise and deal with that
issue you may find yourself stuck.
I know of a person that had such a problem. She had
gone into business several times and nothing seemed to have worked out. During
one coaching session, she discovered what was holding her back.
You see, this lady’s parents had divorced when she was
very young. After the divorce, she lived with her mother who was not wealthy.
Her father, on the other hand, was wealthy and would get her expensive gifts
and generally provide for her materially. Well, through coaching, she
discovered that she was actually sabotaging her chances of success because to
her, being wealthy meant being like her Dad. She felt that by being wealthy she
would be betraying her mother who was not wealthy. So although outwardly and
logically she was in business to make money, inwardly, she was afraid to make
money, because she felt it would make her like her like the person she did not
want to be-her father.
It is important to be clear on what your fears are.
They are by far the biggest obstacle that you have to deal with in order to
move ahead and succeed. The example I have given also illustrates that knowing
the origins of our fears is very important in dealing with them.
You may know what your fears are, but may not be clear
on the reason you feel that way. The answer usually lies in the origin of the
fear. Coaching and counselling can help you dig deeper and understand yourself
better with respect to your fears.
Feeling Powerless
The
second obstacle is Powerlessness. Powerlessness occurs when you are living in a
state of low power. In this state you will find that you generally feel less
energetic, blame yourself or others, are judgmental of self and others and at
times even angry.
The
best way I would describe this state is the feeling of having a weight on your
shoulder, or a feeling of heaviness in your chest or heart, particularly when
you think about your future and your plans. It can be such a drag and every
step can take so much effort.
Part
of the answer to dropping this weight lies in learning to let go of the
negative things in your life. Once you do, you are able to move ahead to a
state of higher power. When you are in a state of higher power you let go of
blame, judgment, anger and negativity. You drop that weight from off your
shoulders or loose those bands that are constricting your heart and mind.
Then
you begin to feel refreshed and light. It becomes easier to move ahead without
the clutter of negativity. In a state of higher power wisdom and intuition are
more accessible to you. The process of letting go of such judgments, blame and
negativity need not be a lengthy or difficult one. It just needs to be focused
and deliberate. Again, coaching can be very useful in this area. There are even
some self coaching tools, such as the Brain Walk, that can help you in this
regard. Using the Brain Walk once a day for five to ten minutes, for example,
you can energise yourself and get yourself in a state of higher power
easily.Another thing that can help you to get to a state of higher power is
your spirituality. We often neglect prayer and reading God’s Word, but they are
the easiest and cheapest means of getting rid of negativity, blame and judgment
of self and others. Meditate on God’s word and pray earnestly. The Bible says
the “effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” It will avail
you the power you need and give you the courage to move forward without fear
and heaviness.
Lack of Focus
Once you have recognised and let go
of your fears and are in a state of higher power, you need to add Focus in
order to move from knowledge to action. By focus, I mean your vision in life.
What is it that you want to do with your life?
Part of the reason that knowledge you
have is not being put to use may be that there is nothing for you to focus it
on. There is nothing pulling you in a certain direction. So today if I tell you
about investing in real estate you will be really excited about it, and
tomorrow if I tell you about multilevel marketing you will be really excited
about that too. The result is that you be pulled in many directions and end up
remaining stationary despite your unfocused efforts.
Acting consistently and towards the
right purpose is important. Work out your vision. Work out your purpose. Be
clear on what you want in life.
Once you do it becomes easy to say no
to things that will not add value to you. It becomes easier to say no to
distractions and you will then know what knowledge you need to acquire and
concentrate on in order to reach your destination.
I hope you have enjoyed reading these
inspirational speeeches as much as I enjoyed writing and giving them.
One of the keys to giving good
inspirational speeches is to rehearse the speech very well in advance until you
are absolutley comfortable with it, which I always do a coupkle of times.
If you want more inspirational
speeches take a look at this one as well. Have you written or given any
inspirational speeches yourself? Why not share them? You can send in your
inspirational speeches using the form on