The Problem with Lacking Clarity in Your Life

Article Summary:?

Many people aren’t clear about what they want and where they’re going.?Lacking clarity is one of the most damaging traps we can fall into.

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Do you know who you are?

What you want?

Where you’re going and why?

We may have a vague sense of these things but no real clarity. We lack a clear vision that pulls us forward toward its sweet and compelling destination.

Meanwhile, we keep our heads down and stay busy as a form of?avoidance . Sometimes this situation continues for a very long time, placing us in an extended state of?drifting .

Lacking clarity is one of the most damaging?traps ?we can fall into. Why? Because lacking clarity affects everything, including our quality of life, relationships, work, leadership, and dreams. And because having clarity is a superpower. Life is so much better and richer when we have a clear vision of a better future, anticipation about what it will feel like when we realize it, and conviction about what’s important and meaningful.

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What We Should Get Clear About

Okay, so clarity is important, but clarity about what? Here are the ten most important things we should get clear about:

1. purpose : why we’re here; our reason for being
2. values : the things that are most important to us; what we believe and stand for
3. vision : what success looks like—a mental picture of what we want to be, do, and contribute in life and with whom
4. strengths: what we’re good at, including our knowledge, skills, and talents
5. passions: what we get lost in, consuming us with palpable emotion
6. goals : what we want to accomplish
7. priorities: the relative importance of our top aims
8. strategies: how we’ll achieve our vision and goals and what we’ll focus on given our available time and resources
9. capabilities: what knowledge and skills we need to develop to realize our vision
10. service: who we seek to impact and how

Signs We’re Lacking Clarity

There’s a big price to pay when we don’t have enough clarity about these things. When we lack clarity, we tend to:

• suffer from anxiety, stress, self-doubt,?indecision , and frustration
• struggle with knowing where to begin
• question ourselves and our actions
• procrastinate
• begin projects without finishing them
• struggle with minor decision-making
• feel like we need advice from others before making most decisions
• feel overwhelmed and burned out
• agree to too many things
• feel confused and uncertain about what to do next
• be more prone to distraction and disorganization
• keep?comparing ourselves with others
• put in inconsistent effort
• remain too busy and frazzled to think about and work toward a better future
• see a decline in motivation and performance

“Lack of clarity is the primary reason for failure in business and personal life.”?-Brian Tracy

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Benefits of Clarity

On the flip side, there are many powerful benefits that flow from having clarity in our lives. For example, having greater clarity:

• eliminates distractions and helps us?focus
• helps us establish a definitive direction
• makes it easier to identify actions to take and prioritize them
• helps us?overcome fear ?and doubt
• makes it easier for others to help and support us because they have better insights into what we want
• allows us to put our energy into what we want
• helps us get things done
• makes it easier to say no to things that don’t matter to us
• helps us manage challenges more effectively
• reduces feelings of overwhelm and helps us manage stress more effectively
• helps us?make better decisions ?and reduces decision fatigue
• allows us to set and enforce boundaries
• helps us save money since we avoid spending it on things that don’t matter
• helps us feel contentment and?happiness
• provides the serenity that comes from knowing what matters most
• leads to healthier relationships
• boosts our?confidence
• facilitates better performance

“…compared with their peers, high performers have more clarity on who they are, what they want, how to get it, and what they find meaningful and fulfilling.”?-Brendon Burchard

How to Get More Clarity

Given all the compelling benefits of achieving greater clarity, the question then becomes how to go about it. What can we do to bring more clarity to our lives? Here are 16 actions we can take:

1. Eliminate distractions, clear out clutter, and create more white space in our lives.?This makes room for self-awareness, pattern-mapping, and new insights.
2. Do one thing at a time.
3. Take?more action ?more often.?Many people assume they need clarity before acting, but sometimes clarity comes from taking action. Act, assess, learn, and adjust. Then repeat.
4. Reflect after acting.?Step back periodically to see how things are going. What’s emerging and what’s getting in the way?
5. Talk to others.?Share what we’re unclear about and ask for their input. They may be able to see things we can’t from their vantage point. (Consider doing this in?small groups .)
6. Develop a?clear vision ?of what life will be like when we’re living the life we want.?Start by defining what success looks like in different areas, including family, relationships, health, work, education, community, and more.
7. Spend more time thinking about our desired future.?Also, engage in planning and actions that move us toward that future. Best to schedule time for it on our calendar.
8. Journal about what’s going on and what isn’t clear yet.?Write freely and let thoughts appear uninhibited.
9. Start acting like the person we want to become.?Bring our desired future into our present.
10. Turn our?purpose ,?values , and?vision ?into a daily mantra or affirmation.* This will help embed them into our consciousness and build them into the fabric of our days.
11. Ask what we would do if we had less time.?By doing so, we force tough choices about what to focus on.
12. Reduce exposure to negative influences.?They extract a tax on our energy and attention. And they pull us away from our own priorities.
13. Engage in regular centering activities.?Take breaks and go for walks. Try deep breathing or meditation.
14. Follow a regular, daily routine.?Be sure that it includes time for quiet reflection.
15. Make time for?systematic self-care .?Don’t neglect good habits of nutrition, hydration, movement, and sleep.
16. Work with a coach or mentor.?Focus on getting more clarity on?purpose ,?values ,?vision , strengths, passions,?goals , priorities, strategies, capabilities, and service opportunities.

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Related Traps

Lack of clarity is common, and it can be pernicious, affecting so much of how we think and what we do. It’s also accompanied by several associated traps:

• Avoidance
• Burnout
• Caring Too Much About What Others Think
• Comparing Ourselves to Others
• Complacency ?
• Disease of More ?
• Dissatisfaction ?
• Drifting through Life ?
• Living in Fear ?
• Wearing “Golden Handcuffs” ?
• Having Our Identity Wrapped Up Too Much in Work
• Indecision ?
• Losing Ourselves ?
• Not Having Enough Margin in Our Lives ?
• Pretending to Be Someone We’re Not
• Self-Doubt
• Settling
• Playing the Short Game
• Being Unfocused

Achieving clarity about who we are, what we want, and where we’re going can be very challenging. But lacking clarity leads to?drifting ?and?settling . And having clarity is a superpower that adds energy and richness to all we do.

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Reflection Questions

1. To what extent are you clear about who you are, what you want, and where you’re going?
2. What more will you do, starting today, to achieve greater clarity in your life and work?

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Tools for You

• Traps Test (Common Traps of Living) :?to help you identify what’s getting in the way of your happiness and quality of life
• Personal Values Exercise : to help you determine and clarify what’s most important to you
• Leadership Derailers Assessment :?to help you identify what’s inhibiting your leadership effectiveness
• Personal and Leadership Development Resources :?including assessments, books, blogs, podcasts, and more

* Brendon Burchard recommends choosing three aspirational words that describe our desired future self (e.g., “kind, loving, joyful”) and making them a daily smartphone alarm to keep them top-of-mind.

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Gregg Vanourek ?is a writer, teacher, TEDx speaker, and coach on leadership and personal development. He is co-author of three books, including?LIFE Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives ?(a manifesto for integrating our life and work with purpose, passion, and contribution) and?Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations ?(a winner of the International Book Awards). Check out his?Best Articles ?or get his?monthly newsletter . If you found value in this article, please forward it to a friend. Every little bit helps!

(This article originally appeared on Gregg Vanourek's blog .)