Hard to swallow pill: You won't improve if you don't apply what you've learned

"Knowledge isn't power until it's applied." - Dale Carnegie

When indulging in self improvement (or any other type of learning), there comes a point where you can't learn anymore through the theory—books, videos, self reflection, podcasts, and even this blog post—before you have to apply it in a practical sense.

Likewise, there also comes a point where you can't apply what you've learned practically anymore before you have to return to the theory.

Applying what you've learned allows new questions and problems to ponder and solve to arise in order to continuously help you move forward. In other words, action produces information.

In college I took a course which had a 50/50 split of theory and practical. We'd start the day learning the theory for which our teacher would get us to apply during the practical session.

During the practical, we'd encounter problems that weren't covered in the theory, and also wouldn't have come to light without doing the practical.

We would then address those problems during the next theory session and once again, the teacher would get us to apply what we had learned where problems would, once again, arise and the whole process would repeat over and over.

Self improvement should be a constant cycle of learning the theory before applying it in a practical sense. In order to improve in a consistent and effective way, theory and practical should be both constantly pushing you forward. Quite like two people pumping the levers on a handcar to move it forward.

Another way I like to think of it is like filling the XP bar in a game in order to level up. There comes a point where you can't fill the bar anymore and have to level up before gaining XP will be useful to your progress again. Essentially, once you have maxed out the theory, you cash it out by applying it in a practical sense (and vice versa).

It's very important to get to grips with the above as a very common trap to fall into is a term often cited as 'Self Improvement Masturbation'. This is a form of procrastination where you constantly consume content as a way of feeling productive when deep down you know you're just putting off what you should really be doing to move forward. 'Just one more book', 'Just one more video', 'Just one more podcast' we tell ourselves.

This was something all too common for me at the beginning of my journey. It felt as if I was improving by consuming 'just one more...', when deep down I knew I was avoiding what I should've been doing to make progress: taking action on what I had learned.

In these moments it's important to make ourselves conscious and aware of when we're consuming for the sake of it and need to put that book, video, or podcast down and begin to take action on what we've taken in.

So how can you begin to apply what you've learned to make progress? Since the actions we should take tend to be outside of our comfort zones, the best way I've found to overcome this is by answering two simple questions when in, or reflecting upon, a situation where you want to grow:

1. What do you currently do?

2. What is the next step?

'What do you currently do?' will be your usual mode of practice, aka your comfort zone, when in a certain situation (such as keeping quiet when in group discussions). Whilst we strive to break out of our comfort zones in order to grow, it's crucial to recognise and establish what that is exactly. This is so it can act as a safe zone to return to in the likely event that venturing out of it becomes overbearing.

In regards to 'What is the next step?', this will be the next realistic thing you can/should do in order to make progress. This should be something outside of your comfort zone that you can just about reach, but also not too far-fetched that you'll fall flat on your face by trying to grab it. Think of it like stretching to reach the next monkey bar as opposed to immediately trying to jump to the very end.

Another way I like to view growing in small steps is like going up the stairs. You wouldn't remain on the current step (comfort zone) as that means you're not moving at all. You also wouldn't try to jump to the very top step as that'll fuck up your knees, shins, and could even potentially break a limb in addition to not being any closer to the top. This means that the next step should always be...the next step.

There's also tremendous value in taking things one step at a time. This is because it allows you to stop and reflect on your progress to ensure you're not going in the wrong direction (and if what you're doing is even worth it in the long run).

Once you have answered these 2 questions, it should become apparent as to what your safe zone is, and what it is you need to do next to make progress.

I used this method with getting myself to dance in public (something I had struggled with for years). I identified 'what I currently do' in this particular situation which was stand there like a statue. I then identified the 'next step' as bobbing my head to the beat. Once I got comfortable doing this, I moved onto the next step, which was moving my arms and body to the beat. As I got more and more comfortable, the previous 'next step' became my new comfort zone which allowed me to continue moving forward and, soon enough, I was dancing.

Keeping things simple by focusing on just two questions will make it much easier to apply what you've learned, break out of your comfort zone, and move forward at a comfortable pace.

Now this is not to say that breaking out of your comfort zone is easy (in fact it's probably closer to being the opposite). However it's a crucial and undeniably necessary habit needed for anyone looking to improve their life. Whilst I made great strides that night, it still took months, maybe even years, to build up to that moment. Sometimes breaking out of your comfort zone will be easy, whilst other times, hard. But as long as you're moving forward, you'll eventually get to where you want to be.

The method described above requires analysis and action, which is why I think it's worth mentioning the immense power of reflecting upon these questions before and after finding yourself in situations where you are looking to grow. This is because trying to do both at the same time can be too much to bite off at once, especially in the beginning.

Reflecting upon these 2 questions in your own time in a comfortable and relaxed environment will help you be better prepared for the next time you find yourself in that particular situation. This is because you can reflect at your own pace without any external pressure or anxieties clouding your thinking. Not to mention that having the analysis part already sorted beforehand will allow you to put the majority of your focus on the taking action part.

When doing this, it's important to know that the goal here is to take as many jabs as possible in the arena outside of your comfort zone before returning. This is so that you have the chance to reflect upon what you've learned before going back out there (in the same way that my class returned to the theory with the information we had gathered during the practical sessions).

Think of it like soldiers venturing out of their base to uncharted territory with the objective of collecting intel. Once they have as much intel as possible, things get too dangerous, or they've exhausted their resources, they return back to base with all the gathered intel so they can improve when setting out on their next mission. Once they've gained everything they can with the collected intel, they venture slightly further out than last time in order to gain the intel they weren't able to get previously.

Theory without practical stunts progress, and practical without theory delays progress.