“Clarity is rarely the problem. Courage usually is.”
Hey Rollers,
One of the things I love most about the coaching I get to do is that I am constantly learning as well.
People assume the coach sits outside the session, observing and guiding from a safe distance. The reality is far less tidy. More often than not, the conversations I have each week feel like a mirror being held up to me. The themes that come up in deep discussions with clients have a funny way of circling back and asking me the very same questions.
This week was no different.
A client shared three lines that his mentor often says to him. Three questions:
Do you know what to do?
Do you know how to do it?
Are you doing it?
That’s it.
Pure gold for those moments of personal navigation, because they cut straight through the noise.
When people feel stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain, we tend to assume the problem is a lack of clarity. We tell ourselves we need more information. That means more research, read another book, complete a course, create a better plan – I can go on and on.
We camp out in the first two questions.
Do I know what to do?
Do I know how to do it?
And in my experience (which at this point includes hundreds of coaching conversations every year) most people do.
They know the conversation they need to have.
They know the habit they need to restart.
They know the boundary they need to set.
They know the work that needs to be finished.
And more often than not, they know how to do it too.
The real friction almost always lives in the third question.
Are you doing it?
Not planning it. Not refining it. Not thinking about it. Not talking about it.
Doing it.
It’s such a simple question that it feels almost too obvious. But that’s what makes it powerful. It removes the hiding places we like to build for ourselves.
Because sometimes the gap between where we are and where we want to be isn’t a knowledge gap, it’s an execution gap. Not in a white-knuckled, hustle-hard way. Just in the steady, unglamorous act of doing the thing we already know is right for us way.
Seen this way, the question actually reduces overwhelm.
It reminds you that you don’t need to wait for perfect conditions or permission.
You might just need to move.
And if you’re honest, you probably already know what that next move is.
Until next week.
Keep rolling.
Justin 👊
Take Action in 3 Minutes:
Pick one thing that’s been circling your mind lately.
Now run it through the filter:
- Do I know what to do?
- Do I know how to do it?
- Am I doing it?
If the honest answer to the first two is yes, then you don’t need more preparation.
You need a first step.
Take it today – not dramatically, not perfectly – just deliberately.