You’ve already picked out the exact colour of your sweatpants.

Grey, lined with green at the sides. Waist-hugging, yet stylish enough to allow you a quick jaunt to the store after your workout. 

You’ve been planning your return to the gym for weeks now, you see. 

Gym outlet? Check. It’ll be the one in town conveniently located 10 minutes from your workplace. Trainer? Check. You scoped him out on Facebook, and were impressed by the glowing reviews on his page and the confident way he spoke about macros and calories. Water bottle? Pfft. It’s sitting in your kitchen cabinet right now, ready to be loaded up on protein shakes and Powerade.

Yet the very next morning, for the 3rd time this week, you drive past the gym without stepping inside. The guilt eats you up.

You knew exactly what to do. You’d planned and mapped out your moves, run mental calculations and timelines, and visualized exactly how you intended to look by December; or as it’s known at your office, “Beach Body Season”.

So what’s the problem? Why do you never actually execute your elaborate plans?

The knowing-doing gap has been well documented. It is the limbo-like state of having an exact road-map of what to do, and yet failing to do it when the time comes for action. 

It's hard to blame it on a lack of information, either. Despite generating and having more access to decision-making information over the last few years than we’ve ever had in history, we still find ourselves constantly paralyzed by inaction in our daily lives.

This weird phenomenon spans the spectrum of our existence, from the home to the office. Corporate action plans and "transformation manifestos" sit unopened in folders on the desks of directors, fleshed out yet forgotten. Meal plans remain unopened on our numerous phone apps, skipped over for the comfort of fast food. Weight loss resolutions are relegated to the wastebin of history as we continue to lament our growing waists and gnawing self-doubt.

“You are where you are right now because of the actions you've taken; or maybe, the inaction you've taken.” ― Steve Maraboli

Many times, we know exactly what to do. We just don’t do it. This behavior stems from a potent combination of unconscious thoughts and conditioning, sprinkled with a dash of procrastination, doubt and daunting complexity; but most importantly, fear.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of breaking a comfortable routine that might upend how things have always been. 

The most important step to take, however, is the smallest one possible which breaks that routine. 

Just as with procrastination, the best way to close the knowing-doing gap is to start with the smallest step and build on from there. Quick wins give us the psychological boost to carry on with more daunting tasks, and this is no different when it comes to beating the knowing-doing gap.

Rather than suddenly deep-dive into that weight-loss program you’ve been procrastinating on, start small. Cut off random snacks from your diet and skip those 5 spoons of sugar in your tea each morning. Eat one less doughnut per day the following week, and slowly work your way into a full weight-loss plan.

I’ll admit I haven’t been spared from the effects of the knowing-doing gap myself. I have been a self-help junkie for over a decade now, devouring almost every self help book I could get my hands on. And yet, despite consuming plenty of pages from sages, I hadn’t been able to apply much of what I’d read into my own life.

I’d gotten really good at diagnosing my deficits; but implementing concrete change was always beyond me.

Albert Einstein's famous words haunted me:

“If you want to see different results, you will have to do something different.”

And yet, the knowing-doing gap kept widening. I knew what to do, but actually carrying out my plans was a different story. 

The chasm only began to close when I came to the realization, through further reading and daily reflection, that I needed to change my behaviors and daily routine. I had to define what daily success would look like, and measure myself against that yardstick on a daily basis.

For instance, I had been a TV fanatic for years. I binge-watched series and movies whenever I had spare time, and I sunk many productive hours into that black box. Was I aware that this was deeply unproductive? Very much so. Did I plan to cut down on telly time? Of course. Did I do it immediately? No. Every time I thought about getting rid of the TV, old habits would kick in and I’d tell myself “let me just quickly see what’s on..."

To help me overcome my procrastination, I took the smallest step first. Rather than quit cold turkey, I limited my TV time to just one day a week. When this proved effective, I cut it down to just one hour per week. After a few months of this, I was able to kick my TV habit and take back control of my time. 

Staring down the barrel of your goals can seem very overwhelming. The knowing-doing gap plays upon this very fear of action. But by breaking down your tasks and taking them one step at a time, you can begin to evaporate your fear and manifest your dreams into action.

Annastasia Williams is a certified life coach with a passion for corporate training and development. With more than 25 years of experience within the retail banking sector, she brings unparalleled insight into what makes great teams, how to grow employees and how to push people towards realizing their full potential. Get in touch with her at www.annastasiawilliams.com/contact.