Tony Robbins Quote on Doing What You Know Because Knowing What To Do Isn’t Enough

“It not knowing what to do, it’s doing what you know.”

Tony Robbins

Beyond the Quote (286/365)

While common sense is common (although some might argue), common sense is not common practice. I find it to be true more and more every day that what we are lacking in the world isn’t more solutions. Solutions are plentiful. What we’re lacking is execution of solutions. What we’re lacking is people’s ability to choose to do what’s hard over what’s convenient and expedient. What we’re lacking is the will, work ethic, and wherewithal required to bring the viable solutions that have already been thought up, to life—to our lives. Or is there more to it than just that?

For those struggling with their general health, for example, the solutions are there. They are proven. You know what they are. You know what foods are healthier than others. You know that moving is better than not moving. You know that getting enough sleep is better than not getting enough sleep. So, what’s the struggle, then? The struggle is in doing what you know—yes. But, why though? One possibility is self-discipline. Another might be habits. Another might be the chaos of your everyday life. But, what if what’s causing you issues are the actual solutions themselves?

What if the problem is that there are too many solutions. Think about it. Type how to improve health into Google and you’ll get more results than you could ever fully comprehend. We are oversaturated with solutions. Having too many choices makes choosing harder than if we just had a defined few—it can cause choice paralysis. When given too many options, rather than doing the incredible amount of work it would take to intake, process, and narrow in on a single option—easier to just not pick at all!

Now, match doing the hard work associated with getting and staying healthy with choice paralysis and you’ll see why so many people struggle to do what they know in today’s world. We have more choices today than ever before—and for every single area of life! If we want to eat healthier—there are literally hundreds of thousands of people and companies that are competing for our business. And the same is true for exercise, and sleep, and whatever else is supposed to be common sensical in our lives. It can be overwhelming, confusing, contradicting, demoralizing, and paralyzing.

So, while it’s true that there certainly isn’t a shortage of solutions, having too many solutions may actually be what’s causing the problem for you—at least in certain areas of your life. So, what’s the solution to having too many solutions? Narrow your focus to a defined few solutions, of course. Separate the wheat from the chaff. Eliminate the fluff and gimmicks. Don’t over-complicate your process. Forget about all of the crazy food prep/ delivery services and try to just eliminate pop/soda. Forget about the infinite line-up of workout routines and choose just one that’s familiar to you. Forget about always needing to buy the new gimmicky AB-TIZER 5000 and just do tried and true bodyweight workouts.

When it comes to healthy living, stick to what’s simple—to what’s effective. Why? Because complicated is the enemy of completion. Simple is execution’s best friend. Make friends with simple and become a beast of execution. Even if you’re not doing every single thing you know, remember that it’s not about that. It’s about doing just one more thing than you were before. And just get really good at adding one thing you know into your life at a time. Because to know and not to do is the same as not to know. So, do one more thing that you know and make common sense a part of your common practice. Become more and more one of the rare few.

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