Inside Man: Clarity & The Luxury of a Clear Mind
As seen in the image above, clarity can sometimes be portrayed as somewhat of a superpower.
The all-seeing eyes. The lifted fog.
Being able to take that extra mile when you're getting down and dirty in the swamp of life.
In my eyes, people underestimate clarity.
Clarity is power. 100% of successful people, be them businessmen or businesswomen, entrepreneurs, computer scientists, famous artists or sports players, they all harnessed the power of clarity to get them where they want.
Try not to twist the idea though. Having clarity or a clear mind state is not a gift from gamma rays or a nip from a radioactive spider.
A lot of people upon become clearer tend to abuse or misconstrue their newly found clarity.
What is clarity?
Well, as Google defines it:
"the quality of being clear, in particular:
the quality of being coherent and intelligible."
This is a dangerous understatement. In the eyes of an inside man, clarity is the ability to see through the challenging fog that life displays in intervals.
Every single day, a human is plagued by something. Debt. Heartbreak. Struggle. It is what makes us human.
The fog can sometimes prove too much for some which can lead to unfortunate mental health issues and depression.
With endless possibilities and infinite outcomes, be them positive or negative, why try?
I understand. I believe understanding to be the first step towards a clearer mind state. Whatever plagues you now in your life, whatever the fog tempts you or holds you back from, understanding that you are always in a place ready for improvement is detrimental to becoming a more focused individual and will allow you to bulls-eye your targets more often. Clarity is a crosshair.
What are the steps I can take to becoming clearer?
There are many steps you can take to vaulting yourself towards success and self-improvement. Unfortunately, there is no step-by-step guide and as life is a lot of trial and error and determination, you might find yourself repeating a lot.
That is more than okay as it gives your brain a chance to shift from the state of confusion & mugginess to a more vibrant and go-getter attitude. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Positivity:
Professor Barbara Fredrickson is a social psychologist & has been a researcher of human emotions for the last 25 years. Here is what she has to say about positivity:
‘I think of positive emotions as nutrients. In the same way that we need to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables to be healthy, we need a variety of positive emotions in our daily experience to help us become more resourceful versions of ourselves. Negative emotions really hit us like a sledgehammer.'
She hits the nail on the head (Not deliberate, I promise). Feeding yourself positive affirmations everyday such as "I will reach my goals", "My targets are in reach" or even something simple such as "I know what I want for myself" is such a fundamental leap towards clarity. I know personally how tough it can get sometimes.
See life for what it is. A roller-coaster. Sometimes you'll like it, sometimes you won't. You gotta' try to learn to accept what you have and power through. You have the power!
Finding your target:
A lot of people, like myself, have been through spells of even long periods of depression or lack of motivation. Sometimes you can feel as nothing interests you or that you have no hobbies. This is absolutely fine! It simply means you are yet to grow and find yourself. Finding your interests before you find your target is crucial.
I once heard that whatever gets you up in the morning, whatever you think about the most, whatever makes the hairs stand up on your arms when it passes through your mind: that is what interests you at heart. Think about it!
The sooner you find something that you're passionate about, the sooner you can pull that bowstring back! This is why clarity is important. If you never have a clear target, you can never hit it.
When you have your target, list the things that you need to do to get there.
Try and work towards it daily or weekly and keep your progress written down and update it regularly. Keeping a note of your progress is a good way to remind yourself that you are indeed moving forwards!
Conclusion
Clarity is a powerful "filter" that you can adapt your mind to in order to reach your goals and targets. Albeit difficult, there are many ways to achieve your destiny through clarity. Having a positive mind state and knowing exactly what you want and how you will get it are two great ways to begin. I have still so much to write on this topic and so many to go through so I do apologize if I didn't cover anything that you had in mind. If there was something, I would love to learn more, so feel free to post your comments below.
References:
http://www.morningcoach.com/power-clarity/
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/the-scientific-evidence-for-positive-thinking/6553614