Thinking less and doing more is the key to realizing your dream

We all have goals to achieve in life. It could be learning a new language, losing weight, eating healthier, becoming good fathers, mothers, saving money and more.

It is easy to assume that the difference between current and future friends is caused by a lack of knowledge. This is why we are ready to buy courses that teach you how to start a business, lose weight faster or know how to conquer a new language within 3 months. We think that if we get a better strategy then we will get better results. We believe a good result will need new knowledge.

See more articles by James Clear:

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4. 5 cognitive biases prevent you from making the right decision

However, what I started to realize was that new knowledge, basically, did not involve new results. In fact, learning something can really lead to time consuming if your goal is to progress and not simply to acquire more knowledge.

All these things stem from the difference between learning and practicing.

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The difference between learning and practicing

In The Practicing Mind (audiobook) book , author Thomas Sterner mentioned the key difference between learning and practicing as follows:

When embarking on doing something, we are involved in intentional repetition with the goal of achieving a specific goal. The keywords here are " deliberate " and "purposeful" because they define the difference between actively doing something and learning it passively - Thomas Sterner, The Practicing Mind.

Learning something new and practicing something new seems very similar, but these two methods produce very different results. Here are some other ways to see that difference.

1. Suppose your goal is to become healthier and slimmer . You can spend hours studying the best instructions for breast augmentation techniques (bench press) but the only way to have toned muscles is to lift weights.
2. Suppose your goal is to start a startup . You can find out the best way to get a Sales pitch (impressive presentation to convince an audience to buy a product or service) but the only way to really get customers That is selling goods over the phone.
3. Suppose your goal is to write a book . You can share with an author of bestsellers about writing but the only way to become an excellent writer is to practice perseverance to improve the writing and publishing skills of your own books. friend.

Passive learning creates knowledge. Active practice forming skills.

3 reasons you should prioritize more active practice than passive learning

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1. Learning can become a crutch to support passivity

In many cases, learning is really a way of avoiding action to achieve goals and benefits that we think are important to us. For example, suppose you want to learn a new language. Reading books on how to learn foreign languages ​​quickly makes you feel you are making progress ( "Hey, I found the best way to do it!") . Of course, in fact, you don't really act to get the results you want (speaking in that language).

In similar situations, we often declare that we are preparing or studying the best method and reasonable explanations that allow us to feel like we are moving forward while actually We are just stepping on the spot and there is no development at all. We make mistakes in movement, not action.Learning remains valid until it becomes a form of procrastination.

2. The main practice is learning but learning is not practice

Passive learning is not a form of practice because even though you acquire new knowledge, you cannot find a way to apply that knowledge. In contrast, active practice is one of the best practices because mistakes made in the process will help you identify core issues.

More importantly, practice is the only way to make meaningful contributions to your knowledge. You can watch an online course on how to build a company or read an article about a terrible disease in a developing country but that knowledge will not be useful unless you really embark on a business. money or material donations or donations for the less fortunate in the pandemic. In essence, learning will bring value to you but if you want to create value for others, you will have to show your knowledge in some way.

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3. Practice focusing your energy on the process

Progress is the natural result of maintaining focus on the process of doing something. Thomas Sterner, The Practicing Mind

Your life is now the result of the habits and beliefs you are practicing every day. When realizing this and starting to focus on practicing good habits from day to day, progress will be a reasonable outcome of that process. It is not that we learn nor dreams that we envision will determine the results. Moreover, these are the habits that you still do everyday.Learn how to immerse yourself in boredom and put your energy into the process, not products or results.

Conclusion

Is passive learning useless then? Obviously not. In many cases, learning for the sake of learning is a good thing. Receiving new information can help you make more informed decisions while wondering between many options.

In short, the key thing I want to mention in this article is that learning, by itself, does not lead to progress . We often use information to evade and consider learning as an excuse for delaying more difficult and important choices of having to actually do something. Spend less time studying passively and focusing more on active training . At the same time, think less and start acting - that's the best way to think about achieving all your goals.