How to Overcome the Clarity "Curse"

Everywhere you go in the personal growth space these days, you hear about the importance of clarity.  Just about every "guru" has their talk on this subject and how incredibly important it is.  

In fact, the common theme is that you "must be crystal clear" on what you want, where you are going, and how you are going to get there - or you won't get it.

I used to subscribe to this theory as well.  I used to speak about how important it is to be crystal clear in everything - until I realized it wasn't.

One day, I was retooling one of my talks which included a section on clarity.  As I started to think more about the concept of being "crystal clear," I realized that on a lot of things I wasn't clear, let alone crystal clear.

I began to examine the different areas of my life and where I had had massive success and asked myself, "Was I crystal clear before I began down the road that led to that success?"  It turned out, I really wasn't.

I realized one thing was consistent; a good sense of direction.  I wasn't crystal clear on how I was going to get the result I desired, but I did have a direction to go, and I took the first step and took action. 

As I thought about this a little more, I realized something profound.  A dirty little secret that most of the so-called gurus aren't going to tell you.  The truth is that no one is ever really crystal clear on things.  When you start down the path to success, you may think you are, but whatever journey you are on will not go smoothly and be wrought with twists and turns.  It will make you question yourself and what you thought you were clear on.  And you will change things along the way.  But, above all, you would still have a direction to go and that is the key element.

A lot of people get caught up in trap of the "clarity curse" where they spend of all this time looking for that crystal clarity so they can begin.  And of course, they never really find it, so they don't begin.

My advice to you is to pick a direction.  One in which you are confident and truly believe in with conviction, and then get started.  You will figure things out along the way and things will become more clear the further along you go.  In fact, if you have ever seen the Lord of the Rings or read the books, it is a perfect example of what it means to have a good direction and then find clarity along the way.  Frodo didn't really have clarity on what he needed to do until very late in the journey.

Stop worrying so much about clarity because it is an illusion, especially in the beginning.  Find your direction and go.  You'll be amazed at how you end up succeeding in your quest.