There's knowing and then there's really knowing

It normally happens with smokers who want to quit, sometimes with those who wish to lose weight.

They know that smoking (or over eating)  is potentially, catastrophically bad for their health but carry on anyway.

I term this knowing at an intellectual level. They know the information but are in no way engaged with it.

Do you see the warning or is it just 'white space'?

They look at the grim pictures or words on the cigarette pack, they have read all the warnings and still they carry on. They have not made the connection that this applies to them. It's seems to be almost a random droplet of knowledge that they picked up somewhere; "Oh yes I know that".

It seems slightly different to a state of denial, more a state of  uncaring.

Then we start work and my role is to have them know the information fully, that is on an emotional level as well as an intellectual level. When this happens, when they connect the information to their own life, the effect is often profound. It's as if they have put information into different boxes in their head that never got opened at the same time, but when they do, I expect tears or anger.

Then I find that positive change can happen quickly; intellect and emotions are aligned. Things happen quickly and generally very successfully from this point on.