Stop. Think. Empower Yourself With Clarity

Clarity, above all else, determines whether you will achieve your goals. In conversation, else you cannot get the message across. In sales, else you won’t be able to convince your prospect your product or service is worth their money. In marketing, else your audience won’t care about your advertisements. In personal growth, else you won’t know what or how you are trying to improve. In relationships, else you get stuck in a loop of misunderstandings. In life.

Where Are You Going?

Okay. Maybe I exaggerated a bit. Yet clarity definitely is one of the cornerstones in the process to progress. Clarity is the ability to see and understand things clearly. It’s self-explanatory. It encompasses your goals, priorities, and what you value. Clarity dictates whether you are assured, or whether you are indecisive. It’s the difference between being an individual working towards something and a dreamer thinking about something. If motivation is the drive to achieve, the fuel, then clarity is the map towards achievement, the GPS.

Don’t mistake clarity for certainty. Certainty means being completely sure about something. Clarity means understanding something. Think of it as a more flexible, adaptable counterpart. A step below certainty, a step above opacity. People struggle with clarity. Few know where they want to go. Less know how they are going to get there. A still smaller subset of people know why they want to go there. And even less are clear about what they are doing to get there. They might not be decided. They might fear failure, success, or uncertainty. One thing is for certain: most lack clarity.

Foggy Brain, Foggy Thinking

Ever felt like your mind is all over? Brain fog, they call it. Hard to make decisions, solve problems, take risks, have conversations. Easy to talk yourself out of difficult things and get frustrated when things don’t work out. When clarity wanes is when we find ourselves bingeing on the latest season and ice cream flavor with no clue of how we even got there. Clarity keeps it short and simple—it “KISSes” progress—whereas ambiguity keeps it long and lousy—it “KILLs” progress. If it feels like everybody has already crossed the finish line while you are waiting for the starting pistol, you’re missing clarity.

Clarity gets shit done. It gives you direction. It grounds you in things you value. When you’re clear on doing something, it’s so much easier to get started and keep going. You might resonate with starting a project only to stop midway. Do you know—really know—why you started it? Probably not. Clarity ensures you know what you can manage. You know what’s primary and what’s secondary. Your brain isn’t stuck in that riddled, indecision state, where it’s hard to make choices and you forget where you want to be. Clarity wipes your windshield of doubts—the doubts that stop you from steering confidently. Instead of worrying what others may think of you, your centered mind will entertain relevant thoughts.

Questions To Answer

If you do not know where you are going, how are you going to get there? Simple question. Stupid answer. The majority of people have no clue where they are going and what they are doing. Then their faces take on all sorts of horrific shapes when they reflect. Oh crap. No progress? What the? But I’ve been so busy and… Everybody has fallen victim to this at some point. Always doing, but not moving. Not making any real progress towards things that are actually important. Towards things that make life worth living. You know the feeling, the discontent, the not-knowing what you are doing wrong.

That feeling sucks. I know, just as well as you do. And it’s that time of the year again. Oh boy. So here are a few questions to spark a lightbulb in your head before you hit off the New Year. Gather some clarity. Take time. Think big. What are the moments in your life that make you feel most alive? If money were no object, what would you dedicate your time doing? What is a challenge you have overcome that you would love to help others with? What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? What activities make you lose track of time because you are so absorbed in them? What’s a story, book, or movie that resonated with and moved you deeply, and why? What is something unachievable or larger-than-life that excites you? If you weren’t afraid of failure, what would you pursue with all your energy? What does “success” and “failure” mean to you? What makes you excited to get up in the morning? What things are going well your life that you will look back on and wish you quit?

Clarity Is Indispensable

Hope I swirled those brain juices a bit. Clarity is seriously one of the most disregarded things when it comes to achievement. If you’re not clear then chances are you will swerve immediately when life throws a curveball at you. It’s when you are clear that you can stay concentrated, determined, and persistent to reach something meaningful. Maybe you want much more than that promotion. Perhaps you’re not after the money. There is, in all likelihood, a deeper reason for what you want in life. Get clear on that. Establish a process. Progress will figure itself out.

The Takeaway

Clarity doesn’t make a difference. It makes the difference. Tim Ferriss put it well, “When you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice.” Without clarity, consider your progress hampered. Clarity is not something you achieve once. It’s a journey in and of itself. Ask those questions. Get those answers. Here’s to a clear year. “It’s a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration…” said Steve Maraboli, “Those emotions are poison to any living goal.”