Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things. Whenever I find myself not doing what I know is good for me, I ask myself this question – am I willing to pay the price? Often, the answer is No. So the gap remains.
When I suffered health issues, I did not want to eat better and exercise; instead I looked for a pill to fix everything. Starting out as an investor, I did not want to wait a decade for my investment to compound. I looked for a stock that would double next month. When I was stuck in a rut in my career, I did not want to spend time improving my skills. Instead I looked for connections who could help me find plump roles. In all cases, I actually knew what was the right next step but I was hesitant to pay the price. Instead I looked for shortcuts. But important things in life rarely have shortcuts.
It’s not hard to know what we should do to improve our lives. Relationships, health, finances, careers – in each, what is good for us is often obvious and in plain sight. But we look for easy answers or dubious shortcuts because we do not want to pay the price. A good mental model is to ask yourself – Am I just wishing for something or am I truly willing to pay the price.
