Looking for Clarity

byPetervanDijk

724 followers

5 years ago

As it is an uncertain time for a lot of people around the world, this topic of today will be very recognisable. Looking for clarity!

People don’t know what to do, what to think of where to go. For other people, it is an excellent time to catch up with all kind of things. Cleaning the house, start reading that book, call to different people, spending more time with the kids etc. But all of us are looking for a form of clarity.

Finding clarity starts by asking yourself questions. A lot of questions. Not once or twice but EVERY day!

Not only you change but also the world around you is changing all the time. So you will have to ask yourself again and again.

What is your perspective in life? What are your views? Look at the whole picture before you judge. Yourself, but also the people around you!

Clarity on who you are is associated with your overall self-esteem. The better the understanding of yourself, the better the feelings about yourself will be and about life in general.

When you have clear goals in life, they will give you focus, energy, productivity, satisfaction and wealth!

In this post I want to give you a few tips on getting more clarity in your life. How to look for your answers and how you can apply them. Good luck and enjoy the process!

Ask questions. A lot of them!

Here below a list with questions, you can ask yourself for a better understanding of your ‘personal clarity’.

Don’t answer the questions with who you think you are (at the moment). Answer them in a perspective of the person you want to be. And how you want to get there (plan).

• Who am I?
• What do I value?
• What am I good at?
• What can I improve? How can I improve?
• What skills do I need to know/learn?
• What are my goals?
• Where do you want to go? What is your vision? Your dream?
• What is my plan? With my career, my relation, my kids, my….
• What is your backup plan? Have a backup plan, because the chances are that you succeed straight after your first attempt.
• What is your mission? Which steps are you going to take to get to your vision?

Baby steps

If you have any troubles finding out what is right for you or you don’t know precisely what it means. Don’t worry. I will guide you step by step.

Step 1:

Look at the list below with dos and don’ts. Look what you already can answer for yourself if you are doing them. As well the dos as the don’ts! Or maybe you can even come up with more?

Do’s

• Clean. Clean your desk, your house, yourself.
• Take a look at stress factors in your life that need to be addressed. Talk to your boss if you think you deserve a raise.
• Meditate (breath). Take some time off and reset. Start by noticing your breath.
• Follow a (daily) routine
• Get your priorities straight
• Take 100% responsibility for your level of clarity
• Visualise your clear future
• Ask for help
• Write down your goals (in work, your relations, your job etc.)
• Enjoy the journey or process you have to go through. Or start to learn to love it!
• Explore and experiment
• Ask questions
• Try new things
• Accept that any goal is better than no goals

Don’ts

• Keep on pushing work/life etc. (burnout)
• Immerse yourself in bad news!
• Ignore your body: Rest/sleep, take a holiday; reset.
• Eat bad food
• Get distracted (TV, videos games etc.)
• Drink too much alcohol and caffeine
• Keep on doing the same things and wondering why you are getting the same results
• Get frustrated
• Keep on doing the same things and expecting the same results
• Try it all by yourself
• Skip on sleep
• Sleep out too long
• Live without goals!

Step 2:

With the information you gathered from step 1, you can now start answering the following questions.

• What makes you happy? What do you love doing?
• What can I get excited/enthusiastic about today?
• What have been your most enjoyable achievement in life so far?
• If you could do, be or have anything you wanted, what would you choose?
• What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
• You are given a billion dollars! What do you do?
• Who inspires you? What qualities do they have that you admire the most?

Step 3:

Read through your answers and highlight the words and phrases that jump out for you and which feel best for you!

“I want more vacation. I should take more time for myself”.

Step 4:

Take each highlighted word or phrase and write it down.

On each point, you now write down your steps to action. What do you need to make this happen for? Write down all the necessary steps to make this specific point of reality.

• Ask my boss for time off
• Check how many days I have left to go
• When can I go? Where can I go to?
• What are the costs?
• Etc.

Step 5:

Take action. Take one first small step towards your goal!

Then you figure out what step next you are going to take.

Step 6:

Evaluate your goals so far and the steps that you have taken. How did it go?

Are their things you have to adjust? Write them down.

Repeat the process and grow. And get clarity!

If you leave your growth to randomness, you’ll always live in the land of mediocrity!

Brendon Burchard

Noah’s Ark

• Don’t miss the boat
• Remember that we are all in the same boat
• Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark
• Stay fit. When you’re 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big
• Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done
• Build your future on high ground
• For safety’s sake, travel in pairs
• Speed isn’t always an advantage
• When you’re stressed, float awhile
• Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals
• No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting.

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Change

A lot of people have troubles with change. Change at work, change with politics, changing partners, changing environments, and so on, and so on.

So, we stay where we are, keep on doing what we are doing and slowly become more and more miserable about a lot of things.

Every organisation that is not changing continuously eventually will disappear, or it will have to undergo a massive and painful reorganisation.

More and more, this counts for man as well. In these rapidly changing times, in which we gain information from all different kind of places we are almost forced to keep up or stay behind.

Change can lead to innovation and adaptation. But not changing can lead to failure and even trauma (e.g. a burnout or being made redundant at your work).

Change is the norm! Stability is out!

20 Tips for Gaining Clarity

1. Clean your mind by cleaning your “space” (clean your house and the place where you work, sit or study, like your desk). If everything around you is a mess, it is more likely your head is a mess.
2. Figure out what your vision is in life. What is your big dream?
3. Which steps do you have to take to get to your vision? This is your mission: your Passion Statement. Plan and write it down!
4. Pick one thing, the goal that that is most important to you on this list, at this point in your life. Pick only one!
5. Eliminate all distractions! If you like to watch TV, don’t sit facing the TV.
6. Eat well. Or start eating better!
7. Sleep well and long (min. 7 hours)!
8. Get quiet: meditate. Only listen to yourself breathing. Start with just one minute!
9. Keep a journal. Or just write it on a post-it. Write down what you think, how you feel, and when you thought it. In the morning, alone, at work, when sporting etc.
10. Experiment with new things. Don’t say you don’t like it, try it out for a couple of weeks. Take the bike to work or take the bus. See what works and how it works. Just try it out!
11. Communicate your goals, your wishes and your dreams with others.
12. Get help! Get a buddy or a friend with similar goals and dreams or get a coach (if you ca effort it). Involve other people.
13. Go where you want to be. If your dream is to go to the Maldives, but you don’t have the money. Go for 15 min under a sun bench and dream for 15 min. that you are there. If you want to go there because of the lovely beaches. Go to the nearest beach and clear your head walking for a bit. Figure out what you CAN do to get where you want to be.
14. Challenge yourself. Don’t say I can’t do this, try it out and challenge yourself. This is precisely the things you should do or try or experience.
15. Finish unfinished business. Things you still have to do or are procrastinating. Do them now! Clean your house or kitchen. Do the laundries or iron your clothes. Or talk to that person what you don’t want to do. Now is a perfect time. Send an email or text because now you don’t have to go to him or her. You have an “ideal” excuse!
16. Celebrate your wins, your victories, your successes. No matter how small. Enjoy them!
17. Understand the steps of learning! (see paragraph How it works!)
18. Watch out for people that set you back: the nay-sayers, the pessimists, the joyless
19. Have a backup plan. Evaluate often and adjust!
20. Learn to love the process of seeking clarity! Enjoy and repeat!
21. Let me know if you know of more!!