Embracing The Power Of Clarity
Clarity, simply put, is defining what you want, why you want it, how you can get it. It is the ability to maintain total focus on your goals. Great people did not achieve greatness by leaving anything to chance. They systematically worked their way to their destination. They had the power of clarity.
According to H.L Hunter, a multi-billionaire who was a bankrupt cotton farmer back in the 1930s, only two things are required to become successful. Number one: you must have a goal, what you desire to have. Number two, you must pay the price it will take to accomplish this goal.
How to Get Clarity in Your Life and Bring Your Goals or Vision to Life
Clear goals and objectives are essential to every successful person. If you live your life without having a clear picture of what you want to achieve, you will never get there. The fact that you have made some money, garnered some material possessions, or worked at awesome places doesn’t mean you have achieved a goal. Clarity entails that you sit with yourself and ponder on what exactly you want to do.
If you say, you want to be wealthy, having clarity will mean you will have to define the exact amount of money you want. It will want to know at what point you want this wealth and what you have to do to get it. Say, you want to be $100,000,000 richer in 5 years. Is your job, or business paying enough to achieve this goal? Do you have to save more or get a better-paying business that will get you to your destination? After answering these questions, you will know what you want to do. In five years, you will know if you’ve accomplished your goal or not. If you don’t set clear goals and objectives, you will be wasteful, confused and dissatisfied with your life.
Why Most People Can’t Create Clear Goals
Fear
The fear of failure, of what people will say, of doing something bigger than yourself are common reasons why many have stopped themselves from achieving greatness. The fear of making a mistake has people floating about life without direction. Teddy Roosevelt postulated that it is better to make decisions whether they are right or wrong because not making a decision is a disaster.
Ignorance
Everyone wants to set goals. However, not everyone knows how to do it. All your years in school might not teach you the reality of setting clear goals: you have to find out for yourself. Clarity needs you to sit down with a paper and pen and draw out the plan for your life. It demands deep thinking: calculative meditation, not just flitting thoughts. It requires a conscious resolve to do all it takes to achieve what you see in your mind’s eye. Some people hate to stay alone in their thoughts. They would rather hang out with friends, go out to the movies, read books, play games, anything to deter them from thinking. Little do they know, that greatness is an issue born from the mind. Casey Treat said, “the greatest battles are fought in mind.” To create something worthy of greatness, you need to reach deep into the recesses of your soul and birth your future. If you can do that, then you’re halfway to success already.
If you don’t plan, you will be used by others to achieve their goals. You will drift from year to year, taking whatever life gives you and grumbling about your dissatisfactions. Clarity gives you the reins to your life. You will have absolute control over situations.
3 Tips On Setting Your Goals
Be Detailed
A goal or vision has to be defined and distinct not generic. It should be defined in detail. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that having a direction is the same as having goals, no! It’s just an illusion of progress. Your goal is something you can measure. It can be calculated; it gives no room for probability. If you are asked at the end of six months or a year about your vision, will you be able to give a definite no or yes answer? Or, will you be unsure about what your position is at that moment? Goals require a definite answer. Is it either you’ve done it, or you haven’t: there’s no ‘in between’ in the equation. Be as detailed as possible, give specific dates, number, and time when you are setting goals.
Write Down Your Goals
Putting your plan in writing makes it more real: more personal. Your goals are just idle dreams if you don’t commit them to paper. When you are writing down your goals, define what you want, not what you do not want. You could attract what you don’t want, because, your subconscious latches on to clearly defined goals. So, instead of defining what you don’t want, define what you do want. Write down your goals as if you have already achieved them. Avoid the use of futuristic terms (will, shall, I’m going to) and make use of definitive phrases. Instead of saying I will buy a house in Singapore this year, for instance, say, I bought a house in Singapore the year 2020. If you form goals in future terms, your subconscious will believe that there’s still time. It will always think there is time. Avoid using words that send doubt to your mind when setting goals. Terms such as may, probably, may, could, might, etc., should be avoided during goal setting. If your goals are subjective or intangible, measure them on a scale of performance. For example, you want to work on anger management, you could say by the end of three months, on a scale of 1–10, I would be a 7 in my anger control. Be precise!
Take Action
Having a goal is good, writing it down is better, but it’s all useless if you don’t take any action. Setting goals require activity, moving from point A to point B to achieve the greatness you saw in your mind and drew on paper. Remember that nothing happens by chance: absolutely nothing.
Finally, note that reality will not always tilt to your goals, but be sure you will find yourself in the vicinity of your dreams. There is a saying that, if you reach for the moon, you will find yourself among the stars and that’s a good bonus. Define goals for your life, don’t let other people’s goals define you.
Umair Khan
The original post is published here.
