I’m sorry, I have to ask. Are you blocking your clarity? Clarity is not only affected by negative thinking. It’s also affected by giving into distractions, perfectionism, and overthinking. I’m learning to decrease these 3 things so that I can maintain a clear mind that acts when I have a great idea or insight. 

Distractions

It’s hard though. Just now I had a great idea on what to write and I jumped out of my seat and headed for the kitchen. What was that all about? I didn’t need anything. So I let the dog out and headed back to my computer to write.

Distractions like that wreck clarity. How can I maintain my thoughts and write great things if my first distraction is going aimlessly into the kitchen?

It’s an aimless act, so next I’ll see a cookie and perhaps I’ll impulsively eat it. Or I’ll go for the cheese.

Then I’ll wander back to my chair and instead of starting to write, I might log onto social media and start scrolling. Then I’ll jump to YouTube. Doh. Wasn’t I supposed to be writing?

Distracted from next steps

It works the same way with tasks that are related to finding clarity for next steps. Where’s the brain power to think about possible next steps when instead of brainstorming next steps or taking next steps we let our brain distract us.

It helps if you know what to do to find clarity (career clarity and coping when you lack clarity). If you know what to do, you have a way to redirect yourself to when you find yourself letting in too many distractions.

Am I blocking my clarity? If I let distractions reign, there’s no blog post, or there’s a really unclear blog post.

Are you blocking your clarity? If distractions are in control, your clarity is affected.

You might also say something similar for perfectionism.

Perfectionism

I got this one covered. Now I just need to learn how to let that perfectionism go. There’s something satisfying about the idea of presenting a perfect product. However, can we learn to let the imperfect product satisfy?

The more I learn about acting on the goals I am setting, the more I realize that it’s not about perfection. It’s about getting started.

Think about it from the perspective of a writer.

If I only wrote when I had the perfect words, I would never write. When I write, my clarity comes as I work the words out. I only know what I am going to say as I work it out as I am writing.

This is a helpful concept to remember, because I think we have this idea that clarity means knowing it all and being perfect.

Waiting to be perfect before taking a next step

If I wait till things are perfect before I start, I might not ever start. If I wait for the perfect plan to take shape before I take a step towards my goals, I might not ever take a step. I might not ever realize what the next step is, because I’m hung up on being perfect.

If we wait for perfection, or only want to release something we create when it’s perfect, we could be hindering our clarity on what might come after the step of letting them out into the world.

Am I blocking my clarity? If I let perfectionism control, I would not have launched this website when I did. If I only allowed what is perfect out into the world, I would never have played a live music show and the songs that I’ve written that I’ve posted online would never have been shared. You can listen to them here in all their perfect imperfection.

Are you blocking your clarity? If perfectionism is in control, your clarity is affected.

The results of overthinking are similar to distractions and perfections.

Overthinking

The ability to see things from different perspectives is a good skill. However, when the thinking prevents action or creates fear of what decision to make, it could be due to overthinking.

I’m getting better at stopping myself when I notice I’m overthinking. Yet, to stop overthinking can be difficult. To stop overthinking about something means that you stop trying to control it.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m overthinking it is usually because I am trying to figure it out or control the outcome.

Overthinking instead of acting on next steps

Overthinking when it comes to an area we are looking for clarity in prevents that clarity from happening.

If we constantly think about what the best (dare I say, perfect) next step is we might not ever take a step. If we constantly try to figure out how to control the situation by overthinking everything, we might miss some helpful insights.

Overthinking blocks insights? Think about it. If our brain focuses on figuring something out, or needing to have the answer, or thinking about what could happen, or why something didn’t happen…where is the room for new thoughts and insights?

Am I blocking my clarity? If I’m not backing away from the situation and providing time for quiet, I am at risk of overthinking. If I overthink, I might miss that opportunity to go-go now-when that God sent answer to prayer comes along.

Are you blocking your clarity? If overthinking crowds your mind, your clarity is affected.

Clarity can grow

The good news is that clarity can grow! Let’s start thinking about our lack of clarity in a new way.

Distractions, perfectionism, and overthinking don’t have to have to the last words in our minds. I am learning to allow more opportunities for clarity to grow in my life. You can grow clarity also.

We can learn to manage and minimize distractions. We can learn to let go of being perfect at the expense of hiding ourselves or our work. We can learn to stop overthinking and open ourselves to new and life changing thoughts.

It’s not a lack of clarity. It’s a growing clarity.

Are you ready to start growing more clarity? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Behavior Challenge:  Pick one of the three clarity blockers-distractions, perfectionism, or overthinking. Focus on what you can do to grow your clarity by changing one of the ways that you interact with one of these 3 clarity blockers.

We often use positive or negative outcomes to judge the quality of our decisions. If I earned a degree that I am “not using” I must have made a bad decision. If I use my degree daily I must have made a good decision. Is this focus on the end result the best way to look at the classification of our decisions as good or bad? Perhaps you use your degree daily, but you don’t like your job. Was it still a good decision?

I listened to a podcast this week that discussed the typical way we measure our decisions. This podcast was a great follow up to my previous post on developing a personal reflection habit.

When we are reflecting on our beliefs or our decisions it can be easy to do what Annie Duke mentioned in her interview on the Science of Success podcast. She called it resulting.

What is resulting?

Resulting is when we give the decision that ends in something positive the label of a good decision. It is when we give the decision that ends in something negative the label of a bad decision. Annie Duke says that when we do this, we are providing an emotional reaction to the result rather than actually evaluating the result.

Therefore, when we use the outcome, or result, of the decision to judge the quality of our decisions we aren’t getting the complete picture. An important idea presented in the podcast is to hold your emotional reaction to the outcome, or result, of a decision at a distance.

With the emotional reaction at a distance you can classify the quality of your decision based on evaluation.

As someone that is trying to form a more intentional and forward moving life, I am finding that my past decisions sometimes sneak back into view and try to distract me from where I am going. I sometimes give in to the idea that, based on my current results (not being where I “should” be or want to be) that I must have made all the wrong decisions.

A less emotional response would be for me to consider these decisions from all the angles in which I originally made the decision and then evaluate them – keeping in mind any data that might be relevant to the evaluation of the experience.

It sounds complex, but let’s image getting our emotional responses under control. Think about how different things would be if we viewed our decisions with a more accurate understanding.

I’m considering using this strategy as I decide what type of career focused training or course I should take as a next step. What decisions would you like to rethink or make using this evaluation approach to judging the quality of your decisions?

Behavior Challenge: Pick a decision that would benefit from putting distance between your emotions and the result. Listen to the podcast for more on how Annie Duke suggests you focus your evaluation.

If you enjoyed this post or want to share about a decision you want to evaluate, comment on this post and let me know!

With all the distractions that we face on a daily basis we need to be intentional about personal reflection. Are we pursuing things because we want to pursue them or because we think that we should? How can we know ourselves on the deep level needed for personal growth, career clarity, and life fulfillment if we are constantly filling our time with television, social media, and various tasks? Do we decide on our next steps by considering who we are or do we follow what is typical behavior?

We need to take time to reflect. We need to stop and think.

When I don’t know what the next step is in one area of my life, it’s time to stop and think. I am noticing that this often means that I have let other things take my focus and attention or that my attention is being swayed by a limiting belief.

My lack of clarity becomes the cue for personal reflection.

I am working to develop a personal reflection habit to regularly engage those areas that I need more clarity in. Below are 3 tips from my experience so far. I wanted to share these tips in hopes that we can all become more intentional with our personal reflection.

Tips for Intentional Reflection

1.  Find a quiet area-you want to create the space for your mind to uncover the beliefs that aren’t from you or that are held together by limiting beliefs.

2. Listen with grace-you are a work in progress and being too hard on yourself for not catching this sooner will hinder your progress.

3. Do it in steps-you took in these ideas over time and recovering your hold on the truth can take some time as well.

I hope these 3 tips for intentional reflection will get you started with developing your personal reflection  habit.

Here’s to gaining clarity about our behavior.

Here’s to gaining clarity for next steps.

Questions: Is there an area in your life that would benefit from intentional reflection? Are there beliefs that were picked up from the world around you that aren’t truly how you want to act or believe?

Behavior Challenge: Find some quiet this week and give yourself time to think and reflect on one of your current struggles. See if you can identify one reason you are struggling in this area. Go deep into the reflection. The surface answer is a good start, but the challenge is to dig into the layers below the surface.

Comment on this post if you are ready to try some personal reflection.