The gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it is huge.

I once asked a doctor: What is the most difficult part of your job?

This is not pressure or responsibility, this is a very basic 'getting my patients to do as I ask,' she said.

At first, I didn't understand, but after she explained, I understood.

"You have an appointment with a patient, you say 'I need you to complete this indicators test, see this specialist, and take that medicine' they come back a month later, but they haven't done anything" they either don't care, can't afford it, or don't have time.

She explained that being a good doctor means spending more time managing her patients, not managing the diseases of these patients. She said there is a huge difference between medicine and being a good doctor.

Medical experts know all the correct answers in textbooks. They can make precise diagnoses and understand all the latest treatment methods.

Good doctors understand: from the patient's perspective, medications can be intimidating, confusing, expensive, and time-consuming. The content of the diagnosis or prescription is not as important before addressing the condition with the patient because even a perfect solution has no effect on patients who do not follow the instructions.

Many things in life operate in this way: investments, relationships, health, career. What we should do in each person is not that difficult - but what is actually difficult is how to take action.

In many cases, people want shortcuts without making any effort. Patients do not want to eat healthily, exercise; they just want a pill to solve everything. Investors do not want to wait ten years for their investments to compound, they want to get rich overnight.

We live in a world where solutions to problems may be very simple, but getting people to follow simple advice is very difficult.

Excerpted from Morgan Housel Mar 2022.