WEBVTT - Knowing is less than half the battle

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that knowing what you need to do is

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<v Speaker 1>not enough. It also takes smart planning to make progress

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<v Speaker 1>toward your goals. Psychologist Laurie Santos and philosopher and cognitive

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<v Speaker 1>scientist Tamar Jindler have written about what they call the

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<v Speaker 1>Gi Joe fallacy. Listeners of a certain age may be

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<v Speaker 1>able to guess what this is. Each episode of the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighties cartoon Gi Joe ended with a public service

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<v Speaker 1>announcement providing a tip for making good choices, things like

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<v Speaker 1>don't give a stranger your address or don't tell anyone

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<v Speaker 1>you're home alone. Now I know, the informed child would say,

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<v Speaker 1>and knowing is half the battle, the PSA would conclude.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out Gijo is wrong. According to these experts,

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<v Speaker 1>in a lot of domains, knowing is actually less than

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<v Speaker 1>half the battle. Hence the fallacy. Knowledge alone isn't enough

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<v Speaker 1>to make good choices. We are more influenced by the

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<v Speaker 1>situation and our habits and emotions. I think if you

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<v Speaker 1>think about it, this will seem pretty clear. Most people

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<v Speaker 1>know that to lose weight. We are supposed to eat

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<v Speaker 1>well in exercise, but that doesn't mean we do it.

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<v Speaker 1>We know that we are supposed to save for a

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<v Speaker 1>rainy day or for retirement. I don't think a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people didn't know that saving money was a good thing.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just that in the moment, there are often other

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<v Speaker 1>things to spend money on. Knowing is part of the battle,

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<v Speaker 1>but probably not half of it. Instead, we can set

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves up for success by shaping our environments. If you

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to drink alcohol, don't have it in the house.

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<v Speaker 1>If you don't want to eat junk food, don't keep

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<v Speaker 1>it around. Stock your pantry with healthy snacks so they're

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<v Speaker 1>right in front of you. If you want to spend

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<v Speaker 1>less time on social media, delete the social media apps

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<v Speaker 1>from your phone. If you want to save money, create

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<v Speaker 1>an automatic transfer from your paycheck to your investment accounts

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<v Speaker 1>so you never even see the cash. You might also

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<v Speaker 1>try making a plan. You may intend not to drink

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<v Speaker 1>at a party because you know you have a big

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<v Speaker 1>workout planned in the morning, but if you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>a plan for what you'll say when someone offers you

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<v Speaker 1>a glass of wine. Knowing that you will feel better

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't drink. Isn't going to be enough? Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you decide in advance that you will say, Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love a Seltzer, let me go glab that the

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<v Speaker 1>gido fallacy confirms what we have probably realized from experience,

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<v Speaker 1>knowing what we need to do isn't enough, It isn't

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<v Speaker 1>how the battle. Instead, we are wise to also shape

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<v Speaker 1>our environment, build habits, and plan to set ourselves up

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<v Speaker 1>for success. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

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