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Knowledge is Not Enough
Why reading all those self-help articles hasn’t changed your life.
There are certain aspects of your life you want to change, right? Things that could use improvement? Maybe you’d like to change something that’s been bothering you for months or even years?
I mean, none of us is perfect. Everyone has something that they want to change about themselves. Maybe you want to be a better public speaker so you read a bunch of books on the topic. Or, maybe you want to get into the best shape of your life so you followed and read a fitness blog. Or, maybe you want to be more grateful so you read all you could find about the science of gratefulness.
The problem is that despite all that reading you did and all the knowledge you gained, nothing changed. Your life stayed the same.
You didn’t become a better public speaker. You didn’t get into the best shape of your life. You didn’t suddenly appreciate everything you have.
What’s going on? What are we missing?
According to Laurie Santos at Yale University, knowledge isn’t enough to cause behavior change.
Why does this matter? Because until you understand how the mind changes, you will continue to do the wrong things to try to change it.