The Revolving Door of Resolutions

Many health clubs see an explosion of members every January 1. In conjunction with  a New Year’s Resolution to be more fit, Americans join fitness centers with the sincere or insincere belief that they will actually show up for a work-out.

As the weeks of a new year tick by, so does the motivation to start or end a work day with a work out. What if a New Year’s Resolution turned your eye inward rather than outward? What if your focus was on the internal you rather than the external you?

If my magic wand worked I would wave my wand and give you the resolution of clarity for the New Year and beyond. Clarity is so important it is as though it is heaven sent.

Interestingly enough, there are no applicable definitions for this word, clarity.

It is not about being clear or being understood. It is not about what we give it is about what we get. Clarity, to see things very clearly, very black and white is a gift. Especially in an era of so much information. When we are young we see things clearly, or you could say black and white. Then as we get older, things get grayer. Or as a wise man once said, when we get older our hair is not the only thing that gets gray.

So to have that clarity through-out the different decades of our life is a gift.

How do we get clarity?

We “think” a lot of things. Often we forget that there is a difference between something that we think and a fact. There is a difference between a fact and an assumption.

Often, we need to get more information before we can get clarity. Often we think we are ready for the answer. But we are in the information gathering phase and not the decision making phase.

Many people assume that clarity is something that will arrive in good time if they simply wait patiently. Others feel cheated that they aren’t gifted with the same degree of clarity as others. The common pattern is that clarity is seen as something that is bestowed from the outside in, that it’s something God, the universe, or the world at large has the power to grant you — or that it’s an accident in some way. Some people get lucky; others don’t.

Clarity isn’t something that arrives from outside of you. Clarity isn’t a matter of luck either. Clarity is what you create for yourself.

Clarity is a decision. I wish for you clarity in 2014 and beyond.

Whatever degree of clarity you’re experiencing right now is what you’ve decided to create. Not deciding still counts as a decision; in that case it’s the decision to remain uncertain.

Don’t wait for clarity to come to you. You’re responsible for creating your own clarity from within. If you lack clarity, then get busy creating it. If you can achieve clarity by doing written exercises from behind your own four walls, great. If not, then leave your comfort zone behind, go outside, and explore what’s out there!

I wish for you the gift of clarity in 2014.