“The Gap” Disease:
The Difference Between Knowing and Doing
When you’ve thought you’ve heard it all because you know what to do, but you also know that you’re not doing it, you’ve got “the gap” disease.
This disease is where most people are stuck. They know and, yet, they don’t do anything that brings happiness and success closer. It affects young and old alike. It can last a short time, a decade, or a lifetime. The decision to live with “the gap” disease, though, is always your choice.
Yes, cancer and heart disease may be the number one and two diseases for your physical health, but “the gap” disease is the worst enemy for mental, emotional, spiritual, and even financial health. Do you not already know, deep in your being, what would bring you the greatest happiness you can receive? (Like perhaps, finding a career that brings you satisfaction beyond a paycheck, or leaving a relationship that is squelching the joy out of your life)?
Most people do know. But, that’s where it stops. These same people grumble after a rousing and inspirational presentation, because they say, “Been there, done that.” But they really haven’t done anything. They’re stuck in the gap. And this disease of hesitancy will cause regrets and bitterness later in life, if nothing is done to move beyond it.
“The gap” disease actually can start as early as age seven. Experts say by age seven the average person has already lost 85% of their creativity. And it’s our creativity that keeps us alive, changing, willing to take risks and do something different than the rest of the herd.
This disease is that space in between knowing and doing. Think back in your life and consider how many times you’ve known what to do and didn’t make a change? Nothing will change until you have that re-inspiration moment. And without that moment, you are MIA—missing in (successful) action. You’re going through the motions, pretending to do what you need to do, when you know a better road.
Until that moment in time, when you are inspired again, where you make the serious commitment to doing what you know is best, the more information or knowledge that you pile on, the more overwhelmed you will get; the more de-energized and demoralized you’ll be.
Without that re-inspiration moment, you may float through a mediocre life forever. With that sparked feeling, however, you will be able to jettison the overwhelm, fatigue, and helplessness that comes from knowing but not doing exactly what you need to do to really be happy.
It is only in taking that bold step, where you completely accept what is, as it is now, that you can make positive change happen. This acceptance can clear the path so that you can take the next step to living well.
That bold step may seem inconsequential, but it is the exact opposite. It is crucial to taking the following steps. Accepting and acknowledging where you stand now, what is in your life—and what isn’t—is a courageous and challenging step.
That means saying, “I am taking my blinders off. I see, hear, and feel what is really going on. I am honestly aware of what is working and what isn’t.” It is a bold step, indeed, because it means letting go of the pretending that “things will get better” when you aren’t doing anything to support that outcome. It also means opening up to all the possibilities of what can be.
Once you let go of the falsity that you are living with, you can then craft a vision of what you really do want. But, until you accept the truth of what is, your vision will be made with rose-colored glasses, and won’t come to fruition as easily or as well (if at all!).
Acceptance of what is, is one of the most challenging things we can do, and it is what will take you to the next level of living in joy.
The catalyst for positive change is the re-inspiration moment. This “aha,” that gives you a kick in the rear, is what precedes the bold step of acceptance. You can be re-inspired by hearing a speaker who has taken bold steps, by reading an inspirational book, or by listening to your intuition that simply allows you to be totally honest with yourself, and points the way for the taking that next step—doing what you’ve known you needed to do, on some level, for a long time.
Now it’s your responsibility to follow through. If you don’t, you’ve got “the gap” disease again. You know, but you’re not doing what you know is best. There will always be things to blame for your “not-doing”—the economy, a holiday or birthday, even the weather. But, if you’ve taken that bold step of acceptance, then you know that you must take the next step (and the next step) too.
The choice is always there. As Albus Dumbledore says in Harry Potter, “It is not our abilities that determine our success in life, it is the choices we make.” Make the choice to find re-inspiration, and to take the bold step of acceptance, so that you can live in a world that supports your living in joy.
