Have you ever known someone who seemed so focused and totally sure about their direction in life?
They probably seemed like the epitome of confidence and had an air of “I know where I’m going” that’s hard to resist.
Meanwhile, you’ve probably had times when you felt muddled, confused, anxious, and wondering which path to take and what direction your life was supposed to take.
Those people who are sure of the path ahead, they’ve got something others may be looking for, and that’s clarity. When you’re able to bring clarity into your life you gain direction and a host of other benefits.
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What Is Clarity?
Boiled down to its essence, clarity is the complete understanding of who you are and what you want in life.
Clarity is knowing what your values are what you want to achieve. One might also think of it as being clear about how we want to move through this life and what we want to leave behind when we’re gone.
Bring Clarity Into Your Life To Determine Your Life Purpose
I’ve always found it interesting how many people seem to just glide through life without any real thought.
They’re the people who don’t have a plan, who tend to just go with the flow, and who often end up wondering how they ended up in the situation they find themselves in.
On the other hand, bringing clarity into your life helps you discover your life purpose. You’ve probably wondered if there is some grand (or not so grand) reason you’re here and if there’s something specific you’re supposed to do with your time on this earth.
If that’s the case, then you’ve contemplated your life purpose.
What’s a life purpose?
Basically, your life purpose is who you are at your core. It’s why you’re here and what you were put here to do in your life.
Now I happen to be among those who believes that each of us has a purpose for our lives. I believe that each of us has something special to share with the world – however big your world happens to be.
But lots of people think that a life purpose must be something life changing, revolutionary, or earth shattering.
I disagree.
In fact, I don’t think that there is any life purpose that’s too small, and here’s why: none of us knows the ripple effect that fulfilling our life purpose may have on others.
For example, perhaps your life purpose is to raise exceptional children. You may feel like this isn’t a big deal and tend to downplay it.
But what if those children (or that child) has a greater life purpose that can only be achieved if they receive the wise and loving parenting that only you can provide?
We may not know the names of the mothers of many influential people in history, but have we ever stopped to wonder if those who were influential and important would have been so if their childhood had been different?
Now you may think, “But I’m just a teacher” or “I’m just a nurse.”
Do you realize how many lives are touched by those professions?
The point is that you don’t have to discover a cure for cancer or invent the next life saving device or be an influential statesman. There is honor to be found in every life purpose.
The trick is discovering yours…and then pursuing it.
Having Clarity Helps You Discover Your Values
Clarity also help you uncover the values that are most important to you.
You’ve likely seen lists of values online. There are lots of them out there.
They contain words such as:
- trust
- honesty
- integrity
- authenticity
- love
- recognition
- achievement
- learning
- fame
- wealth
- and so many more
Why do I need values?
Having a clear set of values helps you develop an internal compass. Your values help you make decisions and they guide your behavior.
People who do not have a clear set of values tend to make choices based on expediency or situational benefit. They’re not consistent and they they may act in ways that are contradictory because they don’t have what some would call “a north star” to guide them.
How do values help me?
Some people might consider a set of values to be your conscience. However, I think there’s more to it than simply feeling good or guilty about something.
Having a clear set of values helps us make choices about our behavior, but they also help us make decisions about opportunities and life changes.
For example, if honesty is one of my values, I’m not going to be tempted to get into a situation that will require me to lie, cheat, or steal. Those things are counter to the value of honesty and to the image I hold of myself as an honest person.
Taking time to get clear about your values is a worthwhile activity. And living your values helps people understand who you are and what you stand for. You’ll become known for your values (if you’re consistent) and it’s one way we create legacy.
After all, when we’re gone, all that will remain are the memories people have of us. Hopefully, we’ll be remembered for our values and how we lived our life.
Clarity Helps You Create A Vision For Your Life
Once you’re discovered your life purpose and have a clear set of values, you can go about creating a vision for your ideal life.
Obviously, your vision is going to include you taking steps to fulfill your life purpose. But your vision may also include other aspects as well.
For example, have you ever thought about:
- where you’d like to live
- what kind of lifestyle you want to pursue
- they types of relationships you desire
- the kind of people you want to associate with
- the type of activities you want to be involved in
- what you DON’T want in your life
- what kind of legacy you want to leave behind
All of these are part of creating a vision for your life and give you something to work for as you make choices and move through particular seasons of life.
But here’s something to consider:
It’s okay for your vision to change as you move through life.
In fact, it probably will change.
As we grow and evolve as people, the vision we have for our life will likely evolve and change as well. I know that my own life vision has changed as I’ve gotten older and as my kids have grown up.
So don’t stress over creating the “perfect” vision for your life because you think it’s not supposed to change. Life is a series of changes and we’re allowed to change along with it. In fact, I think it’s probably a requirement if we’re to be happy, positive people who aren’t stuck living unhappily in the past.
Gaining Clarity Helps You Set Goals
Bringing clarity into your life also helps you set goals.
Now, I’m a big believer in goals because they help you achieve the things you want in life. Goals serve as your roadmap for how you’re going to get to where you currently are to where you eventually want to be.
Most people don’t end up in great places merely by happenstance.
But once we have clarity about what we want out of life and have a clear vision about where we want to go and what our purpose is, the goals we set help us know what actions to take next, how to measure our progress, and to recognize when we’ve arrived.
A good goal is actually an action plan broken down into manageable steps to take in a specific order. Once you’ve created the goal, it simply becomes a matter of working the plan.
If you’re feeling stuck and confused about your goal at any point, here’s a simple exercise that can help you get back on track.
But as with all things, consistency is the key to brilliance.
With Clarity, You’re A Better Time Manager
Okay, confession time. I absolutely hate to have my time wasted.
I was always the one who was early for the movie or meeting. I want things to start on time and for people to get to the point. And I live my life out of my calendar with most of my activities planned.
But I admit that my approach may not be for everyone.
However, whether you’re driven by a To Do list or a schedule or not, bringing clarity into your life does tend to make you a better time manager. After all, you’re clear about what you want out of life, and when you’ve got a clear vision it’s easier to stay focused on what you want.
This makes it easier to say NO to things that don’t move you closer to creating your vision.
This doesn’t mean that you turn down every invitation you get and that you never enjoy any downtime. Quite the opposite, in fact.
When you’ve got clarity in life, hopefully you’ve got clarity about your whole life – not just one or two parts of it.
In fact, once I spent some time gaining clarity (and I use my Power Sheets to help me do this), it became easier for me to say YES to opportunities. I’d spent time and had determined that time with friends and family was one of my high priorities.
I’ve also set personal development and pleasure reading as high priorities as well. No longer do I feel guilty when I take time to read a book or listen to a podcast because these are things that I’ve already determined are part of my ideal life.
In fact, not only do I not feel guilty…but I actively make time for these pursuits.
Bringing clarity into your life helps you know what you need to get done and why. It helps turn attitudes like, “Yuck, I have to cook dinner tonight” into “Good nutrition is important to my health so I’m anxious to try this recipe.”
Or instead of, “I hate having to tidy up the house” you can reframe the task as, “My home is my happy place so I’ll just put these things back where they belong.”
To Do lists and schedules don’t have to be a source of frustration. When you view them as a key to achieving the life you want, you can think of them as tasks that move you towards your ideal life.
Other Benefits When You Bring Clarity Into Your Life
While I’ve identified five major benefits of bringing clarity into your life, there are other benefits as well.
For example, as you gain clarity and work to build your ideal life and achieve your goals, it’s inevitable that you’ll make some mistakes.
Making mistakes is part of any learning process and it teaches us a lot of lessons if we’re willing to learn them. Mistakes also help us build resilience which is a key component of having the grit to continue in the face of uncertainty or adversity.
And let’s face it, life is full of both. None of us needs to be like a melting ice cream cone when things get tough. Instead, we need the ability to get back up and keep going.
That’s the only way to get to where you want to go.
Gaining clarity also helps you get clear about what you DON’T want! And sometimes knowing what you don’t want is the first step to figuring out what you do. Some months back I was floundering a bit and came up with this exercise to help me hone in and figure out what was next.
There is also less overwhelm when you’ve got clarity in life. That’s because so many of the choices and opportunities we’re faced with are easily set aside because they don’t fit with the clear vision we have for our life.
It’s so much easier to say NO to something when you realize the things you’re saying YES to instead.
And finally, bringing clarity into your life helps you live a more balanced life. I’ve frequently said that your life is not a pie that can be easily cut and divided into nice equal pieces.
Instead, your life is a system where each part impacts the others. When one part of our life is in disarray, it tends to cause distress in some other part as well.
But gaining clarity helps us balance out the different components of our life which results in more joy, peace, and contentment.
Conclusion:
It can take time to bring clarity into your life. We all have busy schedules, hectic lives, and demands on all fronts. All of these can make us feel like we don’t have the time it takes to think about some of the big things in life.
But at the end of the day, it’s those big things that really count. What did we do? How did we impact others? What positive influence are we leaving behind?
And while life is made up of the small moments – the demands, the obligations, the to-do’s, the events, and the run of the mill, all of those small moments can be part of the overall vision we have for our life IF we’ve brought clarity into our lives and are purposeful about our activities.
Here’s a series of books to help you gain clarity about different aspects of your life. This link is to the entire set, but you can read individual titles for free if you’ve got a subscription to Kindle Unlimited (I love my subscription!).
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I help older women get past their fear and mindset issues so they can create a plan to pursue their goals and dreams.
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