I Know What to Do. So Why Am I Not Doing It?
A Story You Might Recognize
You’ve read the books. You’ve taken the courses. Listened to the podcasts, did the meditations. You know you should cancel that subscription, check your bank balance, ask for the raise, open the investment account.
And yet - you don’t.
Instead, you tidy your inbox. Refill your coffee. Check Instagram. Tell yourself, “I’ll do it tomorrow when I feel more ready.”
But tomorrow comes, and the to-do still lingers.
You don’t lack knowledge (okay, maybe a little). In any case, you also lack something else - something deeper.
Knowing and doing live in different parts of the brain.
Knowledge is cognitive.
It’s housed in the neocortex - the part that reads articles and plans your grocery shopping.
Action is emotional and physiological.
It’s governed by your limbic system and nervous system. These respond to felt safety, not intellectual goals.
When you’re not doing the thing you know you should, it’s often because your body doesn’t feel safe doing it.
The Behavioral Pattern Explained
There’s a name for this: cognitive dissonance freeze.
It’s when your conscious mind says, “Yes, I want this,” but your subconscious says, “Nope, not safe.”
That conflict often leads to:
Avoidance or procrastination
Anxiety disguised as perfectionism
Over-researching instead of executing
Doing 90% of the task, but never finishing
Your system is not broken. It’s protecting you.
The Nervous System Lens: Your nervous system is wired to protect, not perform.
If money was a source of stress, conflict or shame in your childhood, your body remembers - even if your mind wants to move forward. That memory lives in your fascia, breath and nervous system state. So the moment you think about taking a financial leap, your body activates its go-to functions that it always activates when something is new or scary:
Fight: I’ll force it and just grind harder.
Flight: Let me scroll first, then I’ll start.
Freeze: I feel numb. Can’t focus. Maybe later.
Fawn: I’ll ask someone else what they think first.
None of these are moral failures. They’re strategies your system developed to keep you emotionally safe. Your body is always trying to survive, it is protecting you. We are unfortunately not wired for prosperity and happiness. We are wired for survival. So what you experience is perfectly normal and expected. But it might not be super helpful, because your bank account is not a sabertooth tiger.
Okay, that is good to know, I guess. But what now?
A Tool to Try: Slow the System
Before pushing forward, pause and ask:
What part of me feels unsafe doing this?
👉🏼 Then try one of these:
Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Take three deep breaths. I mean it, if you’re not doing it, nothing will change. Sorry not sorry.
Write out the fear in a journal. “If I do this, I’m afraid that…”
Be honest.
What you are writing down might feel stupid or immature. Insignificant. Confusing or contradictory. That’s okay. None of this is logic, that’s why we’re doing it. Writing things down is always the first step to clarity.
Read it again without judgment.
What do you notice? Any patterns? Or did you not write much? Nothing you didn't already know? That’s okay, too. If the first time doesn’t work, you can always do it again. And again. The more often you do it, the more your nervous system will know that this is now what you’re doing. And get used to it. And at some point, the block will dissolve. Take baby steps if you have to. But move forward.
Naming things can really help take away their power. Nobody needs to know what your fear is. Recognizing and acknowledging it is the first step on the way to feeling safe.
Action becomes possible when the body feels safe. So build safety first.
A Truth to Anchor
You don’t need more information. Okay, maybe a little won’t hurt.
But what you need most is **integration - between your mind, body, and money goals.
If you feel stuck, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy or broken. It means your system is wise, and it’s waiting for you to listen.
Key Terms Defined
Cognitive Dissonance: The tension that arises when your actions, perceptions and beliefs don’t align.
Freeze Response: A biological reaction where the body becomes immobile in response to perceived danger.
Felt Safety: The internal experience of calm and groundedness that allows you to take risk or action.
Financial Avoidance: The habit of putting off money-related tasks due to emotional discomfort.
Nervous System Regulation: Practices that help shift your body from stress states into calm, grounded states.
A Truth to Anchor
You don’t need more information. Okay, maybe a little won’t hurt.
But what you need most is integration - between your mind, body, and money goals.
If you feel stuck, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy or broken. It means your system is wise, and it’s waiting for you to listen.
Key Terms Defined
Cognitive Dissonance: The tension that arises when your actions, perceptions and beliefs don’t align.
Freeze Response: A biological reaction where the body becomes immobile in response to perceived danger.
Felt Safety: The internal experience of calm and groundedness that allows you to take risk or action.
Financial Avoidance: The habit of putting off money-related tasks due to emotional discomfort.
Nervous System Regulation: Practices that help shift your body from stress states into calm, grounded states.
If you’d like to go deeper, sign up for the waitlist to my course “Mystery Money” - where we bridge exactly that gap between knowledge, safety and action. Learn more or sign up.
Further Reading
Article: If I Know What I Need to Do, Why Can’t I Just Do It? - Psychology Today
Blog Post: Money is Not Just Money - Mantrarella Post
