Do you know someone who knows ten times more than you know about a subject but can’t fight their way out of a paper bag when it comes to translating their knowledge into action?

I refer to that as “Caught up in the teachings.” It happens in every field: academia, therapy, religion, and sports just to name a few.

There’s a professional golfer named Jim Furyk who has one of the ugliest swings on tour. Almost every golf coach wanted to change him because he didn’t have the “proper” mechanics. But it certainly hasn’t kept Jim from winning tournaments and amassing tens of millions of dollars in winnings in his ongoing 28 year career.

Those coaches were trapped by their knowledge which was in hard cement. The rigidity of someone caught up in a philosophy is limiting.

I’m reminded of a Grasshopper quote from years ago: “The more rules you have, the less flexible you are.”

The less flexible you are, the fewer option you’ll perceive.

I like to quote one of my teachers Dr. Dave Dobson from moons ago. When someone asked him if he could help them with a problematic situation he would answer with, “I don’t know what’s not possible.”

We limit our possibilities when we’re bound by the book. It’s helpful to know what’s in the book, but sometimes you have to go off script to get results.

I’m reminded of another quote from another one of my teachers: NLP pioneer John Grinder. He said, “If you alway do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” If you’re not getting results, you may want to examine your philosophy and your beliefs so you can bypass doctrine and get into doing.

I think any good teacher would like you to add to their teachings, not be hampered by them.

Sometimes you have to just walk past the talk so you don’t get caught up in your own words.

All the best,

John

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