How to Get Clarity

Before my wife and I created KALFIT, I was in a place in my life where I was looking for a change.  Even though I had a beautiful family (and still do) I was stuck and dissatisfied with myself.  I knew I wanted something more in my life.

I knew I wanted to change things — my health & fitness, finances, current job, the way that I was approaching life (late 40s) — but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do about any of it. Most of the time, I just ignored all of this, kept myself busy and distracted.

I didn’t have any clarity on what I wanted or what I needed to do. This lack of clarity is felt in all of us very deeply, so that it shows up in how we talk, how we hold ourselves, how other people feel us. It affects our relationships, our jobs, and our health.

And then, I got very clear that I needed to change and in order to do so, I had to find my purpose in my life (what am I here for).  I then had to align my purpose with action.  But before I could do any of this, I had to have clarity, a vision of my purpose.

Clarity helps us to focus, to take action, to feel empowered.

A lack of clarity causes stress, inaction, a scattered focus, relationship difficulties, and confusion, which is where I was starting from.

Some examples of areas to find clarity in:

• Your mission in life (your actual purpose on this earth)
• Your morning routine (finding your focus and reaffirming your purpose)
• Your financial plan (I wanted to change from just surviving to having abundance)
• What you need to do to improve your relationship (being able to accept flaws a willingness to love unconditional)
• How you’ll get healthier (I am now healthier at 53yrs old than in my mid-twenties)
• What others expect of you; what you expect of them (clear understanding of who I am and being accepted)
• What your boundaries are in each relationship (drawing a line in the sand and holding true to your values and beliefs)

As you can see, this is a pretty broad topic — it can apply to every part of our lives. And we don’t have to be perfect, and we don’t have to get clarity on everything this week.  It takes time to develop and understand.  You can’t treat this as an “all or nothing” It’s something to bring awareness to, that we can improve within ourselves over time.

But the more we find clarity, the more we’ll have focus, calm, motivation. (My morning routine is critical to starting my day)

How to Get Clarity

OK, great … we want to get clarity in our lives right?    How do we do that?

Allow me to share what I have discovered in finding my clarity:

1. Create some space, in other words block some time off. When we’re unclear on something (how we should reach a goal, for example) … most often we put it off because we have no clarity on it.  Instead, try creating some space to get clarity. Carve out an hour. Half a day. A weekend. (Depending on how big the thing is that you need clarity on.) Then do the things below. But carve out the space/time. Reflect on where you want to be in your life in year or 10 years.
2. Journal, iterate. Write about what you need clarity on — it doesn’t have to be any solid answers, or any kind of coherent writing. Just let your thoughts pour out. Stream of consciousness. Just give yourself space to reflect. For example; say you want to lose weight, how much weight? Be specific and most importantly, ask yourself “why”.  Being over-weight is only a symptom of an actual underlying issue.  This is why diets are temporary.
3. Meditate & contemplate. Similarly, you can go out in nature and spend some time in solitude. Go for a walk on the beach. Sit on a rock. Meditate. See what comes up for you. Hold one question in your mind: “What do I want here?” Or “why am I here” and “for what purpose” find something that you can connect with, something that resonates within you. See if anything emerges as you hold the question.
4. Talk to others. Share your thoughts with others. Share what you’re not sure about. What you’re afraid of. Hear their thoughts. Just the act of talking it out is valuable — you’re giving space for your thoughts and feelings, and having them heard. Often you can get clarity from a good conversation.
5. When you have a little clarity, write it down. If you have some kind of answer, any kind of clarity at all, write it down as simply as you can. Two sentences. Putting it down simply helps it become clearer and reinforces what you are searching for. Find it and then you can start to take action on it. (my above example of losing weight)
6. Take action to get clarity. Many people think they need to have clarity before they take action, but it often happens the other way around. If you have the slightest bit of direction on your clarity, go in that direction, take the first steps, and see what it’s like. For example, losing weight will call for an exercise program or maybe speaking with a fitness/life coach. As you sit with a coach in a consult, you may gain more clarity of why this change needs to happen in your life.
7. Reflect after you take action & get clearer. As you set things in motion, it’s useful to step back every month or two to see how things are going. What have you learned? What’s getting in the way? Use what you’ve learned to get even more clarity. Simply write it down and take action on it.

Of course it never ends, you will always be refining and changing direction in your life.  This is a core value that makes your life worth living and enjoying to creating the best version of yourself.

What areas of your life need clarity? How is the lack of clarity affecting you and those around you?

Are you ready to create the space to get the clarity?  Are you ready to share?

Grow, learn, and share – Kipp – KALFIT Coach & Mentor

P.S. If you can relate and need guidance or just someone to listen to your story, let’s chat, CLICK HERE for a free consult.