I remember hearing many times the famous quote by French philosopher and mathematician Rene Decartes, “I think, therefore I am.” While it’s true that we can become something through our thoughts, it’s only part of the equation. We think in school (at least a percentage does). There are many people who think. The problem is over-thinking. You’ve heard of the term, “paralysis of analysis” right? People who over-think fall into this pattern. Heck, they don’t even move to the decision stage. Many college professors fall into this trap. They can teach knowledge, but they never experience the know-how that creates new knowledge.
Here’s the problem with over-thinking, too many thoughts tends to lead to inaction. When presented with more than 3 options, consumers more often make no decision. They may analyze which option is the best. What usually happens is that they usually will walk away and think about it.
Remember Aesop’s Fable about the Cat? “The fox was boasting of how he had hundreds of ways of escaping hunters and that the cat had only one. When sounds of hunters soon approached, the cat ran up a tree and the fox was confused of what to do that the hounds caught up with him. ” This is an example of having too many thoughts that lead to inaction.
In this case, less equals more. That is one of the reasons the U.S. Marines adopted “The Rule of Three.” Much like the attitude of consumers, the Marines discovered that they became more effective when each Marine focused on or was responsible for 3 processes. This includes being responsible for 3 other Marines directly below him or her. A squad leader is in charge of 3 fire teams. Each fire team leader is in charge of 3 riflemen. It goes up and down the chain of command that way. It makes for more effective decisions and actions. By the way, the Rule of Three also works in making communication more effective.
Read: Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, and the Rule of 3
Know-how is created the same way. It starts with thoughts or knowledge and moves towards decisions and actions. The more actions taken and adjustments made from errors, the more one move towards know-how. It’s a good thing that I was able to apply my knowledge of cars into practical know-how. It’s saved my booty many times.
Here are some suggestions that I’ve discovered from personal experience and from others on taking thoughts and turning them into action…
- Prioritize your thoughts and take action on the most important one first. The more you do this, the more likely you’ll start developing know-how in that area.
- Whenever you come across a new idea, test it. Put that idea into immediate action to see if it works for you. That is important for know-how to develop. Each one of us learns differently and have different interests. Do what works for you.
- Get a friend, a coach or someone else that will hold you accountable. Many times we need that “swift kick in the pants” to help us to take action.
- Once you learn something, teach it. More than likely when you do that, you’ll also take action to learn it better. And how does that happen? It happens when you take consistent action.
- Write down in a journal every time you take action on an idea. Write down what you learned and how you applied it. Did you make mistakes when you took action? Put that down. What adjustments did you make? It’s all about making adjustments to create know-how.
- Ask others on what they did to gain their know-how on the same thoughts and ideas you had. They may have insights you may not have thoughts about. I do this all the time. I know that I don’t know everything, including my area of expertise. So I ask others.
I hope this helps you to get your ass going. I wish you success as you move from thoughts to actions to know-how. Let me add one final thought, once you gain know-how, find out your know why. Using the journal helps in this process. This is called science. Knowing why something worked.
Cheers,
Bob Choat, “Transformational Master Black Belt” 
America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness
