One of my coaching slogans is ‘Knowledge Is The Key To Success’.
I believe the more one knows about what they are doing and need to do to achieve their goal, the greater the chance they will achieve it and more.
As a health coach, I notice that my clients who take on board what they learn from my coaching and then apply it, achieve better results than my clients who do what they primarily do because I told them to do it.
Now, I am not saying that doing what I say won’t get you to achieve great results. I wouldn’t have survived as a coach over the years if what I recommended to clients didn’t work, but the clients who go beyond what I say and learn more about what they need to do in order to achieve better health, end up with more sustainable results then clients who don’t.
I am also aware that I myself can be the reason some clients don’t go further to learn more about being healthier and fitter. Clients pay me their hard earned money for me to provide them with the recommendations, support and help to achieve their goals. So why shouldn’t they just go with what I tell them and have faith in that being enough. Why pay me, if they then have to go and find out more.
In his book ‘The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People’ Stephen Covey talks about the power of Synergistic Thinking. Synergistic thinking is when the whole of something is greater than the sum of its parts.
In health coaching terms, when what the coach knows works with what the clients knows, a greater result is achieved than if only one person’s knowledge is used.
As a health coach, I have spent the last two decades learning as much about health, fitness, nutrition and wellbeing as I can. No matter how much I learn though, there is so much more to learn.
Not just the specifics of health, fitness, nutrition and wellbeing, but how someone else will apply that knowledge is important. Why is it that one client finds it easier to exercise every day, where another is very hit and miss, no matter how many times I advise them that exercising every day will help them achieve their goals, which they are paying me to help them achieve.
Knowledge is a two way street. When what a coach knows works with what a client knows, the synergy that comes from that strengthens the working relationship between the two. They are both pulling in the same direction and the speed of success is faster.
Sure, one client might have a stronger desire and a bigger ‘why’ to achieve better health, but no matter how strong your desire is, if you don’t know what you are doing, then it will be harder to get what you want.
Gaining knowledge is only part of the solution. It is how someone then applies the knowledge that really matters.
Albert Einstein once said, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
Wanting to change is not enough. Knowing how to change is what matters and change is not an easy process. Knowing more about how to change and why you need to do certain things to change, is why some people change while others stay the same.
The worst scenario is knowing what you have to do and then not doing what is needed. This is when you can’t use ignorance as a reason for not changing.
“To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.” — Dr. Stephen Covey
Maybe this is why some people don’t want to gain the necessary knowledge, as it takes away their reason for not changing, “I don’t know what to do, so I will just keep doing what I have always done”
‘Ignorance is bliss’ is not a recipe for success. Success comes from the desire to change and the hard work that is required to make the change happen and last.
Knowledge is required so you don’t waste your desire and hard work on doing the wrong things and end up with the wrong result.
I have always encouraged my clients to ask questions and challenge what they and I know. What we know shouldn’t just be taken as all that needs to be known. There are so many experts in the field of health and wellbeing, all giving slightly different information and ideas about what is the best thing to do.
So with so much knowledge out there, what is the right thing to do and what are the things you should avoid?
Knowledge should always be seen as a journey, a never ending story. What was believed yesterday to be true, is today out of date, with something new to be learnt tomorrow.
I am a great believer in what works, works. Sometimes what works flies in the face of the norm and status quo. So it is not always necessary to know why something works. If it is helping you achieve what you want, then it works.
Just knowing that something works is knowledge. Knowledge is something that you should experiment with, play around with, go on a journey of self-discovery. Just never be satisfied with what you know, keep challenging what you know and keep adding knowledge as you go.
Never in the history of mankind has so much knowledge been available to so many people. If you work at it, you are able to learn something new every day. Just put something in Google (there are other search engines available) and see what comes up. Explore and discover.
If search engines are not your thing, then surround yourself with knowledgeable people. Learn what they know, just make sure to provide your knowledge to them in return. As there is always something that someone doesn’t know. They just don’t know it yet.
Whatever your goal is, find experts in that subject and engage with them to learn as much as you can. Believe me, they will also learn from you. I myself have collectively learnt more from my clients than one single client has learnt from me.
In the end, we are only intelligent as a result of what we do know, and ignorant about the things we don’t know. Always go into any relationship with an open mind and people will share their knowledge with you.
Go in with a closed mind, portraying you already know everything, then people will think their knowledge is of no use to you and you will be none the wiser.
Chris, myHealthCoach
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