What is Clarity?
Let’s be honest. Most of us do not have clarity because we haven’t taken the time to ponder what it means in our lives, much less plan for it and develop it. At least, that’s the conclusion I came to when I began really questioning these things in my life. What exactly was my purpose? Why did I always feel like I was working but rarely feeling like I was advancing or achieving what I’d hoped to achieve? Why wasn’t I really feeling fulfilled? I lacked for nothing, really, but still something seemed to be missing.
It wasn’t until I sat down during my coaching certification and really began understanding the concept of clarity, defining it for me and practicing it in real time, that I began to understand and see change.
Clarity is a skill high achievers have honed. “They have more clarity on who they are, what they want, how to get it and what they find meaningful and fulfilling.” (High Performance Habits, pg. 63). You don’t need to be a CEO to be a high achiever. Sure, you can be a business owner, you can also be an employee, a stay at home mom, a retired person, or an empty nester trying to figure out your next chapter.
Clarity takes thinking and experimenting with what you desire in life. We can not define clarity once in our life and think we’re done. Those who are successful, are very clear on what they want, what their plan is to achieve it and what the end product looks like. And, they review it continually to make sure they’re in alignment with their goals.
Why Clarity Is Essential
Without clarity, we wander. Here’s five reasons clarity matters:
- Clarity reduces overwhelm. When life feels chaotic (and we will always have our seasons of chaos), clarity is like a filter, helping you know what matters most and what can be released. You see, you’ve already decided what’s important, what your focus is, who you are as far as your values etc., so you don’t have to constantly be going back to the drawing board.
- Clarity fuels confidence. Decisions will feel lighter and faster when you’re not second-guessing. With clarity you can move forward without the constant swirl of doubt.
- Clarity saves energy. Ooh, this is good! Confusion and indecision is exhausting. Clarity frees up head space and emotional energy that can then be spent on achieving your goals, working towards progress, exploring your creativity and experiencing joy.
- Clarity creates direction. Instead of spinning in circles, you know your next step. Even if the whole path isn’t visible, clarity gives you enough light to move forward. And, this is empowering.
- Clarity creates peace. A clear mind is a calmer mind. With less noise, you experience more presence and focus. Who doesn’t need some of that these days?
How To Get Clarity
It may sound silly, but one of the concepts with clarity is you have to know who you are. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you value? What are the values you use to define yourself? For example, for me, I use four guiding values that I filter everything through. They are: Authentic-true to myself, living in alignment with my values, Brave: this is something I’ve had to develop. I used to shy away from discomfort (it’s human nature-we’re wired to do it). But I’ve learned to ask myself when I find myself shying away from doing something or procrastinating, “Am I being brave?” Frequently, the answer is, “Not really or not enough.” That’s all I need to know to change my response. Because I’ve chosen that value as one I want to live by. I’ve accomplished more in the last year living by that one value. Creative: for me, this is having fun, creating something whether it be food, knitting, gardening, or writing etc. It involves being joyful and bringing laughter to situations and events. Finally, Curious: staying curious is so important. It’s easy to repeat old habits, do the things the way we’ve always done them. Especially in our culture today, am I being curious? Am I asking questions and listening to answers, even if they’re opposing opinions and views.
Next, we need goals. They need to make us a bit uncomfortable. I’ve heard them called ‘stretch goals’. They’re not impossible to attain, because that would be deflating. They need to be specific and difficult. It improves performance because they push us and we’ve taken the time to outline exactly what they are and what the steps needed are, and they have deadlines. Otherwise, we push them off, think about them, overthink them and never move the ball forward.
People that achieve their goals, also tend to envision the future goal. What will their life look like when they’ve accomplished the goal? They’ve envisioned themselves there, from the environment, to the clothes their wearing, who they are surrounded by, how they feel having attained the goal. Athletes are great examples of this. Have you ever watched the Olympics and observed the athletes actually performing the routine on the sideline with their eyes closed, head phones in listening to music. They’re mentally rehearsing it, envisioning it perfectly. They’ve actually performed the routine probably hundreds, if not thousands of times, and yet, they’re still mentally rehearsing it mentally. I find, I’ve rarely ever done this in my life, but I’ve started to because I recognize the value in it of achieving my goals.
Then you need to develop the skills to achieve the goals. Do you need to learn something new to achieve your goal? For me, it’s been learning all the tech with starting my business. It’s a weakness of mine. I don’t enjoy it, but it’s necessary to achieve my goal. I had to sit myself down and talk to the part of me that was resisting learning the tech. Some of it, I found others to help me, some I hired out, but part of it, I just had to commit to learn. I had to be brave, in a sense and just start doing it. Setting aside blocked time dedicated to just doing the tech. And, I’m seeing the results. Maybe you need to go back to school or get a certification. I encourage you to write down your goals and what it will take to accomplish them, then take the next step. You’ll feel energized, even if a bit overwhelmed or scared because you’re entering a new arena. Do it anyhow.
In Closing
It was Yo-Yo Ma who said, “If you don’t have clarity of ideas, you’re just communicating sheer sound.”
Here’s an exercise: If you describe your future self in just three positive words that would sum up who your best future self is, what would they be? Why are those important to you? Write them down so you see them everyday (a sticky note on your computer, the bathroom mirror, somewhere near the kitchen sink, on the fridge…you get the idea) and begin to incorporate them into your daily actions and choices.