We often assume that if people know better, they will do better.

If we know that sleep is important, we will sleep on time. If we know that too much screen time is not good for us, we will put our phones away. If we know that healthy food is better for our bodies, we will make healthier choices. If we know that patience matters when parenting, we will always respond calmly. But real life is rarely that simple.

Over the years, working across health education, learning and behaviour change has made me increasingly aware of the gap between knowing something and actually being able to act on it. We often focus on creating awareness and sharing the right information, but the more interesting question is what happens after people know. Because knowing is only one part of the story.

We know more than we practise

Think about something as ordinary as using our phones.

Most of us know that excessive screen time can affect our sleep, attention and overall wellbeing. Many of us have probably told ourselves that we should use our phones less, especially at night. We may even decide that tonight will be different. But how many of us intentionally keep our phones away when we are lying in bed? How many of us resist checking a notification just before sleeping? And how many of us reach for our phone almost automatically within a few minutes of waking up?

We know. And yet, we still do it.

This simple example says a lot about human behaviour. The problem is not necessarily a lack of awareness. We know that scrolling late at night is not helping us sleep, but the habit can still be difficult to change. Our phones are easily accessible. Checking them has become part of our routine. Sometimes we are looking for entertainment, connection or simply a few quiet minutes at the end of a busy day.

The behaviour makes sense in the context of our lives, even when we know it may not be the healthiest choice. That is where the gap between knowing and doing becomes interesting.

Awareness is only the beginning

In health education, awareness is important. People need accurate information to understand their health and make informed decisions. Whether we are talking about nutrition, physical activity, sleep, emotional wellbeing, personal safety or preventive health, knowledge gives people a starting point. But awareness alone does not necessarily lead to behaviour change.

A young person can understand the importance of healthy habits and still find them difficult to practise. A parent can know that positive communication is important and still lose patience after a long and exhausting day. Someone can understand the importance of taking care of their mental wellbeing and still struggle to make time for themselves. A learner can understand something in a classroom and still need time, practice and encouragement before they can apply it in everyday life.

This is not a contradiction. It is simply part of being human. Our behaviour is influenced by much more than what we know. Our routines, emotions, relationships, environment, resources, past experiences and habits all play a role.

This is why behaviour change cannot always be achieved by giving people more information.

What happens between knowing and doing?

There is a space between awareness and action, and that space is often shaped by context. Consider the simple advice to “sleep earlier.”

It sounds reasonable. Most of us know that adequate sleep supports our health and wellbeing. But what if someone works late? What if they have young children? What if their day begins early and the only uninterrupted time they have for themselves is at night? What if scrolling on their phone is the only time they feel they can switch off from everything else?

The advice itself may be correct, but it may not be enough. This is why I believe good health education needs to look beyond the information being shared. It also needs to understand the person receiving that information and the reality in which they are expected to act on it.

The same principle applies to learning. We sometimes assume that once something has been explained clearly, learning has happened. But understanding a concept and being able to use it are not always the same thing. People need opportunities to practise, make mistakes, receive feedback and try again. Behaviour change often works in much the same way.

Good content should help people connect information with life

As someone who has spent years working with content and learning, I have also come to think differently about what makes health content useful. Good content should certainly be accurate and easy to understand. But it should also help people see themselves in the information. Instead of simply telling someone that excessive phone use can affect sleep, perhaps we can encourage them to notice their own pattern. When do they reach for their phone? What usually triggers it? How do they feel afterwards? What small change might actually be realistic for them? That moves the conversation from instruction to reflection. And reflection can be an important part of behaviour change.

The same applies to emotional wellbeing. Telling someone to “take care of themselves” sounds positive, but it can be difficult to act on advice that feels vague or disconnected from everyday life. Sometimes a much smaller question is more useful: What is one thing you could change this week that would make your day feel slightly easier? The difference may seem small, but it changes the nature of the conversation.

Behaviour change needs more than motivation

We often talk about motivation when discussing behaviour change. Motivation certainly matters, but it is not the whole story. If motivation alone were enough, we would probably all have perfect habits. Most of us know what we would like to change. We may want to exercise more, sleep better, spend less time on our phones, eat more mindfully, be more patient or make more time for ourselves. Yet knowing what we want and consistently doing it are two different things.

• Sometimes the behaviour we want to change is connected to a need that has not been addressed.

• Sometimes our environment makes the healthier choice difficult.

• Sometimes the change feels too large.

• Sometimes we simply need more opportunities to practise a new behaviour.

• And sometimes we need to stop judging ourselves for not changing immediately and instead understand what is getting in the way.

This is why meaningful behaviour change often requires practical support, not just motivation.

Perhaps we should ask a different question

When someone knows what they should do but is not doing it, our first reaction can sometimes be, “They know better.” But I find a different question much more useful:

What is making this difficult?

That question does not remove personal responsibility. Instead, it helps us understand behaviour before trying to change it. If a child is struggling to follow a routine, perhaps we need to understand what is making the routine difficult. If a young person is not adopting a healthy habit, perhaps we need to understand what their environment looks like. If an adult knows they need rest but never seems to find time for it, perhaps we need to look at what their day actually demands of them. Understanding does not mean making excuses. It means designing better solutions. And this matters when we are creating health education programmes, life skills programmes, learning experiences and behaviour change communication. If we want people to use what they learn, we need to understand the realities in which they live.

From telling people to helping people

There is a difference between telling people what they should do and helping them understand how they can actually do it. The first approach focuses on information. The second considers the person. It asks what matters to them, what might be getting in the way, what support they have and what small step might feel possible. This shift can be particularly important in health and wellbeing work.

For example, instead of simply telling someone to exercise more, we might help them think about where movement could realistically fit into their existing routine. Instead of telling someone to spend less time on their phone, we might help them identify one particular time of day when they could create a phone free space.

The goal is not to make the advice more complicated. It is to make the action more realistic.

Change does not have to be perfect

There is another part of behaviour change that we sometimes overlook. People do not have to get it right every day. Someone may decide to keep their phone away from their bed and then forget the next night. A parent may practise responding calmly and then lose patience. Someone may begin a healthy routine and fall out of it a few weeks later. That does not necessarily mean the change has failed. Human development is rarely a straight line. We learn, practise, fall back into old patterns and try again. Sometimes progress is simply noticing something we did not notice before.

Maybe we become aware of how often we check our phone after waking up. Maybe we recognise what situations make us lose patience. Maybe we notice that we are tired before we reach the point of exhaustion.

Awareness may not create immediate behaviour change, but it can create the starting point for it.

The gap between knowing and doing matters

Perhaps this is why I increasingly see health education, learning, behaviour change and wellbeing as closely connected. Information matters. Knowledge matters. Awareness matters. But they are not the final destination. The real question is what people can do with what they know.

What makes a healthy choice easier? What gives someone the confidence to try? What allows them to practise? What support do they have when they struggle? What does their everyday environment make possible?

These questions take us beyond simply telling people what is good for them. They help us think about how people actually live. And perhaps that is where meaningful behaviour change begins. Not with the assumption that people do not know enough, but with the understanding that sometimes people already know. They just need the right conditions, support and opportunity to turn that knowledge into everyday action.

Knowing matters. But helping people move from knowing to doing may matter even more.

Knowing Is Not Enough