One question I'm often asked is how to find clarity in life. This is a big question and it’s not easy to answer in one or two sentences. Getting clarity is essential when making both big and small life decisions. Oftentimes, it eludes us when we need it most. But, it needn’t be a challenge.
Finding clarity in life does require doing the work though. There’s no quick and fast fix here! It entails evaluating who you are and what you want to do. Without clarity, you can end up taking so many wrong paths, only to find yourself out the other end asking, “How can I get clarity on my life?”
Let’s talk about finding clarity in your life. I’m also sharing seven tips to get you started so you can get closer to where you want to be – but first, let’s get some clarity.
What’s the Big Deal About Finding Clarity?
Have you ever been faced with making a major life decision, only to find yourself feeling confused about what direction to take? Suddenly, your mind goes into a funk state and all you see is brain fog. This doesn’t serve you in any way. That’s what happens when you DON’T have clarity.
A famous French philosopher, by the name of Blaise Pascal, came up with this quote about clarity. It defines clearly (to me anyway) why it’s such a big deal to find clarity in your life.
“Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves.” – Blaise Pascal
Without clarity, you’ll struggle to identify your passion. Without passion, you’ll battle to love others, love what you do, and have what you want.
It’s a big deal to find clarity when you want to live your life with purpose, passion, and love.
The Benefits of Mental Clarity
Clarity of the mind allows you to identify what you’re passionate about and live your life with passion. The benefits of mental clarity are numerous and they include:
Less confusion: A clearer mind means you can have more confidence about where you’re going and what decisions to make.
Identifying strengths and weaknesses: While reflecting on what you want, with a clearer mind, you’ll also identify your own strengths and weaknesses. This allows you to work on areas that need improvement in order to get to where you want to be.
Setting goals: Clarity of the mind helps you to set goals to match your vision and life purpose. It also means you’re in a space to come up with an action plan and take the necessary steps to achieve your goals and dreams.
An overall sense of wellbeing: A clearer mind frees up space to think positively, constructively, and with focus. You’ll also experience more lightness, joy, and happiness. Clarity gives you the zest to live each day fully and energetically.
Mental clarity gets you out of that rut that leads to that feeling of being stuck. But, how do you find this mental clarity?
7 Tips to Finding Clarity
Here are the seven tips I've used in my own life to bring me closer to achieving a clearer mind so I could find clarity in living my life with passion and purpose.
Tip 1: Take Action
Realizing you’re in an unhappy or unfulfilled space is the first step to taking action. Thinking and deciding what you’re going to do about it and taking action will start the process of seeking clarity in your life.
I’m a life coach so I’m going to shout out loud and clear what action you should take at this time. Hire a life coach and embark on a journey of a lifetime. A structured and well-designed coaching program empowers you to:
Identify what’s not working in your life
Set goals and put a plan of action in place
Explore who you are, what you want to do, how you’re going to do it and what you want to have
When you know the WHO, the WHAT, the HOW, and the WHY, you’re well on your way to having clarity in your life.
Tip 2: Start Meditating and Journaling
Self-reflection is a key component of becoming aware of your true SELF. Both meditation and journaling are powerful tools to help you self-reflect. Through meditating you can increase your sense of awareness. You’ll discover how your body feels whenever there’s a trigger and whether you’re feeling good or not so great.
Journaling empowers you to unravel all those beliefs you have about yourself. Writing down your thoughts often brings a solution to a problem. Self-reflection allows you to open your mind up and explore the deeper realms of your subconscious mind.
With awareness and a deeper understanding of what drives you, you’re giving your mind the space to find clarity.
Tip 3: Give Yourself a Break
Removing stressors such as social media, constant phone calls, and emails, and taking a break from your everyday life is another way of helping you to find clarity. A change of scenery works wonders for clearing the mind and allowing some clarity into your life.
While it’s not always possible to take a three-week break, a day or two away from your work life and personal commitments are often all you need to find some clarity. Use this time to self-reflect and work on your WHO, WHAT, HOW, and WHY.
Tip 4: Identify Your Personal Core Values
This one is a biggie for me. The day I identified my own personal core values, was the day I started to have clarity about my life purpose. I can’t emphasize this enough with my own clients and those who have done the serious work in identifying their own values can vouch for what I am saying – your values will give you clarity on your way forward.
Having your own personal core values to turn to whenever you’re facing a decision, need to make a judgment call, or simply trying to decide if you want to go to that social event or not, allows you to find clarity almost instantly.
Tip 5: Be Honest With Yourself
Honesty with SELF is the greatest gift you can give yourself when seeking clarity in life. It’s this honesty that’ll drive you to search within and to find the answers to what’s missing from your life. Once you know what really drives you, you’ve found clarity in your life.
When you’re honest with yourself, you’ll be inclined to take action, self-reflect, and identify your personal values all while you’re taking a break from your everyday life. It's also called responsibility.
Tip 6: Incorporate Self-Care Into Your Daily Life
Self-care is all about loving yourself. And, when you love yourself you’ll want to do the things that are good for you. Acts of self-care will help to minimize stress, and improving your body, mind, and soul which all lead to having a clearer mind.
Here are some great ideas for self-care:
Exercise every day be it yoga, walking, or going to the gym
Use essential oils when bathing, meditating, or journaling to create a calmer environment
Eat healthily
Get enough sleep
Treat yourself to a pamper day at your favorite spa
By taking good care of yourself, you’re opening up your mind to a world of possibilities. And, that includes having more clarity in your life.
Tip 7: Ask the Right Questions
Knowing how to ask yourself the right questions will help you come up with the best answers. I love the questions posed in this Forbes article:
What would you do if you had less time? This is similar to asking yourself what would you do with your life if you knew you were going to die in a few months. The answer should be to live life with passion. Wouldn’t it be a pity to only find clarity when you’re on your deathbed? Start asking yourself this question NOW so you can find clarity sooner.
Are you ready to learn the truth about yourself? Only when you acknowledge who you really are and not what everyone else expects you to be, then can you start finding clarity about life on your terms. Until you evaluate yourself deeply, you’ll continue seeking clarity. So, do the work and find your TRUTH.
What truth are you holding inside? Ah, this is a difficult one. You know who you are but something holds you back from showing it to the world. This is about being vulnerable and letting the world SEE you and your truth. When you keep it hidden away inside you, you’re not going to live a life with clarity.
When you start asking the right questions, not only will you have a clearer mind but you’ll begin to find clarity in life.
Final Thoughts
Seeking clarity in life is like searching for something that’s missing. You know that feeling. It’s like, “Hey, I know there’s something more out there but I don’t know what it is.” When you’re missing an essential part of yourself, you'll constantly seek clarity.
The tips I’ve shared in this blog may seem daunting and challenging. I suppose they can be but what choice do you have when you’re serious about seeking clarity in life? Contact me if you need guidance and begin your journey into discovering what clarity can do for you and your life.
Here are some books that could help you start the process of finding clarity.
This post was originally published on April 29th, 2021, and updated on August 22nd, 2022.
* Any product links mentioned in this blog are "paid links."
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