I Know Better, But I'm Not Doing Better. Why?

I Know Better, But I’m Not Doing Better. Why?

I know better, but I’m not doing better. Have you ever felt this way in life?

There is a famous quote from Maya Angelou that says:

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

I love this quote because it basically is saying don’t beat yourself up for what you don’t know. Accept where you are in life as it is where you are meant to be, and it’s ok. However, once you do know better, that’s when you should actively do better to pursue the love, success or other desires you have in life.

These words of wisdom from Maya Angelou have been heavy on my mind lately, as I’ve been dealing with the guilt of not doing better when I know better.

I am firmly aware that to achieve my dream to have millions of women around the world go rogue, I must produce more content and be consistent. Instead of building on that knowledge, I find ways to sabotage my hopes to have my message go viral. I write less, let life’s drama distract me and allow my limiting beliefs make me question if I am strong enough to continue to grow.

It’s not like we don’t want to do better when we know better. Often we want to do better, but it feels uncomfortable doing something new. So we go back to our old habits because it’s what we know to be comfortable even if it means we are blocking our true desires.

But think of your old habits like base in a game of Tag. We feel safe when we are on base; we know what to expect, and it’s a time to breathe before going back out again into the unknown. And though no one wants to get tagged out, we also don’t want to be on base the entire game like a spectator watching everyone else win either.

The bridge between knowing and doing better is just that, continuing to do better even if you fall backwards. Don’t you think there were moments when even the late Maya Angelou fell back into her comfort zone? The difference is that she was able to acknowledge those moments and kept moving forward.

That’s what life’s all about; keep learning and doing better. And if you want to enjoy the journey a little more, ditch the self-hatred as we all fall back into old habits. It’s what you do next that makes the difference.