Doing works, not just knowing
I learned this lesson from a funny experience with the trash can.
The trash can has been in the laundry room. adjacent to the kitchen for many years. All our family members must have made thousands of trips to it by now.
Sometime back, we had to temporarily relocate the trash can a few feet away to near the kitchen island to enable the repair of the dryer. This was to create space around the washer for opening it and replacing some parts. Getting the parts and replacing them took about 10 days. We had been making trips to the trash can at its new location, several times a day.
During this period , I learned the hard lesson that we can’t do the right thing, just by knowing what is to be done and how. Knowing is simply not enough. You won’t believe it unless you experience something like this. Read on …
After the trash can was moved, every time we had to drop some trash, we quickly walked to its original location, only to find it missing there, recollecting its new location and walking to the new location.
After this happened a few times on the first day, I cursed myself for forgetting the fact of its new location, even though I saw it in the new location several times while walking in the kitchen area.
I thought my brain would guide my feet to the correct location, at least from the second day. But no! Not only the second day, but for at least five more days, I continued walking to the original location, cursed myself and walked over to the new location. The first few times, it was a funny experience. Then it was very frustrating and irritating.
After a few days, I gave up all my negative thinking. I realized that an action repeated thousands of times, can’t be changed just by knowing the revised action intellectually. The intellect, with all its knowledge about the new location of the trash can, could not make my feet walk to its new location. It was incapable of redirecting my feet.
My stupid action of walking to the wrong location of the trash can corrected itself, after 7 days. I would walk towards the old location and half way through, suddenly realize that it is at a different location and redirect my feet.
I was happy for this huge improvement. Before my habit corrected itself 100%, the washer repair was done and the trash can went back to its good old location. Not surprisingly, I quickly went back to the long established habit of walking to the old location. I might have walked to the new location only a few times. I was sort of relieved and happy to get into the old groove.
Now I fully sympathize with any one trying to change an old habit. If walking to the trash can can be so difficult to change, it is no wonder people find it so difficult to give up addiction to overeating, smoking, alcohol and angry outbursts and such 'bad' habits, even after realizing their negative consequences.
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