Clarity begins with the desire to become self-aware. Thinking back to my own journey, I had to recognize the bad habits and patterns that consistently gave me results I didn’t want. Usually, those results were damaged relationships and the loss of my reputation. When we’re looking at gaining clarity, it’s really about asking why we do what we do. This goes back to Simon Sinek’s Start with Why, and using that process to ask yourself those questions.
I’ve found that as I led clients through that process, when they get to the core of their why and truly understand it, it’s a very emotional moment. Tapping into that emotion – that real core “why”—gives you power. Power to know what to say yes to and when, and what to say no to and when. It’s at that point that your self-awareness allows you to have clarity on what the consequences will be if you continue to make the same decisions, or use the same processes.
Maybe the clarity of consequences is the most important clarity of all. I spent much of my life believing that I could always right a wrong, instead of realizing how important it is to prevent a wrong.
The power of clarity is the reset of your mind. Instead of just existing day-to-day, feeling like a ship being blown across the water, you actually have a destination you’re aiming for. You’re no longer going to let the things that used to get in your way stop you. There is also a lot less noise. You have more focus, and because of that, the distractions are fewer. Clarity allows you to narrow your choices, making it more obvious what you should do in any one situation. It’s the first step toward leading with purpose, growing with purpose, and making the really hard decisions with purpose.
The old saying, “Ignorance is bliss,” is true… until it’s not
I’ve seen my clients have to make really tough decisions about letting people go from their organization, whose mindset and attitude were no longer in alignment with the vision and purpose that they’d discovered—the company’s “why.” While actually letting them go was hard, because we never want to be the cause of heartache in anyone’s lives, the decision was so very clear.
The old saying, “Ignorance is bliss,” is true… until it’s not. What I mean by that is if you keep putting off gaining the knowledge you know you need simply because it’s more comfortable than having to face reality, reality ends up punching you in the face, and it’s no longer bliss.
Personally, now that I’ve experienced what it is like to have a solid why, I’ve noticed that I’ve stayed true to it. I have more peace in my life and I’m living in the present, with less worry about tomorrow. Clarity is the antidote to fear.
Jordon Peterson said (and I’m paraphrasing) that with the human experience, as soon as we’re born, we are all in. We are all in the same journey, we all have the same fate. That really made an impression on me. The sooner we realize that, knowing that every moment can have purpose and can matter, you have the choice to either ignore it in bliss and die with regret, or embrace it.
Personally, I’m going to live "till" I die. People work so hard toward retirement, that’s their goal in everything they do, that striving toward some “perfect” future. Then they retire and fail to keep living. It’s the same for a business, if there is no purpose, no intent, then when the CEO or founder steps down, the company dies.
If there is no other purpose for that company to exist other than to provide a certain lifestyle, you’ve missed the mark. That is the opposite of what Refined by Failure is about. I want to help bring the power of clarity and purpose to lives and businesses so they can thrive.