A skill that we all have that holds us back in monumental ways is our ability to lie to ourselves.

I mean, think about it.

On a daily basis, how many times do you convince yourself that you don’t actually have to complete the tasks on your to-do list and can instead watch another Netflix episode?

Or how many times do you tell yourself that it’s okay that you DoorDash dinner again tonight because you had a stressful day?

Or how many times do you try to convince yourself that your mental health is good and you don’t need therapy?

Every day, we try to convince ourselves of whatever reality we want to see, whether or not it’s objectively true.

One of those realities we try to convince ourselves of is that learning is equal to doing and that by learning, we are making progress in the right direction.

This is called the Learning-Doing Gap, and too many of us are stuck in this gap and don’t want to get out.

What Is the Learning-Doing Gap?

The Learning-Doing Gap is when you’re in analysis paralysis.

It’s the space between knowing what you have to do and actually doing it.

The Learning-Doing Gap is comfortable.

A place where we convince ourselves that by learning and educating ourselves on what we need to do we’re making steps in the right direction.

But what’s really happening is that we’re convincing ourselves that the reality we want is achieved through a form of doing that feels like we’re making progress without having to do the things that’ll make us real progress.

I once had a friend in college who aspired to make a YouTube channel and work on their filming and editing skills. They eventually wanted to have a business where they would manage young filmmakers and editors.

Shortly after finding this out, we grabbed coffee, and I asked if they had made their channel yet.

“Not yet, I’ve been watching a lot of videos on how to start a YouTube channe,l though.”

The next time I saw them at the library, I asked them how their YouTube channel was going.

“I’m researching what equipment I need and trying to figure out how to source the funds.”

Finally, about two months after our initial conversation, I texted them to see if they had made their first video yet.

“Not yet. I’ve just been so busy with classes and my job. I haven’t had the chance to sit down and film anything yet.”

I sighed in disappointment and opened Instagram.

They just posted 20 minutes ago about a party they went to last night.

What a shame.

My friend was stuck in the Learning-Doing Gap.

They were deceiving themselves into thinking they were making tangible progress toward their dreams by watching educational YouTube videos and researching filming equipment and editing software.

But really, all they were doing was creating a false sense of progress by educating themselves on various topics they think they need to know in order to be successful.

In reality, they would’ve been able to make much more tangible progress (and learn more) if they just did it. If theyhave just created their YouTube channel and filmed their first video.

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” -Confucius

Real Talk

I’m not going to tell you what you need to do to overcome the Learning-Doing Gap.

You already know what needs to be done.

So ask yourself: Why aren’t you doing what needs to be done to overcome the gap?

The likely answer is fear.

My friend was probably fearful of creating their YouTube channel because then it meant they had to post. And they were probably scared to post because then they would be under public scrutiny.

There’s so much comfort in learning about something that you want to do because you reap the reward of feeling like you’re making progress without having to actually put yourself out there and do the work.

But don’t lie to yourself.

Watching YouTube videos, reading books, and listening to podcasts only get you so far.

And newsflash: It’s not very far!!

You’re always guaranteed to make the most progress by actually doing and learning along the way.

Learning and doing are not two separate things that happen on two separate timelines.

They co-exist and are complementary on the path to success.

So what is that you need to be doing, and what’s really holding you back from doing it?