The 5 Myths Of Clarity (Holding You Back)
I found myself in yet another conversation with someone about what they’re being held back by, and they told me in desperation:
“Tommy…if I only knew what to do —I’d be on fire and making all my dreams come true.”
And while it sounded great on paper, I told them the truth:
“That’s a brilliant excuse, one I’ve used personally —but it’s not true.”
In the personal development, growth, and seven-easy-steps-to-success world, I’m noticing an unhealthy obsession and reliance on clarity.
And I understand I speak of clarity all the time too —on the Resist Average Academy podcast, my books and endless social media posts.
But I’m tired of people using lack of clarity as an excuse to not get started and to sit on the sidelines.
I’ve compiled these myths into what I call the 5 Myths Of Clarity most people use as a convenient excuse to stay stuck…
….and not do the tough and messy work required to face themselves every day and move their life and business forward.
Don’t let these hold you back from creating incredible results this year and in 2019.
Let’s dig in and release them once and for all.
Myth 1: Clarity Is a Destination
The number one clarity myth is the belief that clarity is an end-all, be-all destination. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and yet it’s so common to believe.
Because believing this myth places tremendous pressure on achieving clarity —and people will spend years or decades searching for it.
They may spend time in Himalayan ashrams, or be on an endless loop of information binging their favorite personal development guru and still never find it.
Why?
Because clarity is a process and evolution based on your growth.
Your clarity and mine will change based on who we are today, tomorrow and during the rest of our experience in this game called life.
Release the pressure, and instead —fall in love with the daily pursuit of clarity. Understand clarity increases with capacity, meaning you’ll achieve more clarity as you grow and experience results in life.
(This is why the homeless person on the street doesn’t create vision boards —the clarity they need is how to get their next sandwich.)
Myth 2: Clarity Is Needed to Get Started
“Once I know what to do, I’ll start.”
“I need some more information and planning.”
“Next year once I have my certification, I’ll launch.”
While some clarity is important to start —most people think they need all the answers today. Again, this keeps countless people on the sidelines of life and business, waiting for clarity to get started.
This becomes an endless cycle of wanting to start, getting overwhelmed and then repeating the pattern over and over until you give up.
Here’s the deal: while some clarity is important to get started, it’s overrated.
Because when you execute, you’ll find much more clarity than you ever would thinking and pondering for 6 months.
Myth 3: You Need Clarity On The “How”
I wrote about this deeply in The 1% Rule, and I said the “how” is where dreams go to die.
So often, I’ll be in a client session or having a conversation with someone and I notice how inspired they get about their vision (the what) and their purpose behind doing it (the why.)
But then, I slowly see their body language start to change —and that’s when I know they’re thinking about the gap.
The gap, or the “how” —is connecting the dots between the vision and the messy middle.
But contrary to what most people believe, you don’t need to have clarity around the “how.”
Because when you’re crystal clear on the what, and the why —the how starts to reveal itself.
The only clarity you need is on your first few steps to get started. I’m literally talking about those first 3 action steps you can do this week, and the following 3 you can do the week after.
Everything else becomes a chance to be riddled with fear.
Myth 4: No Such Thing as Having Too Much Clarity
For some people, having too much clarity can actually create so much pressure —they do nothing.
I know, I know…it sounds weird and you’re probably thinking:
“What!? How can too much clarity be a bad thing?”
Let me explain with a personal example. Once every 6 months, I sit back and nerd out with a marker in hand —and put my entire business and life on a massive whiteboard.
(I do this with my clients, too.)
This past year when I completed it —I took a step back and thought to myself:
“Wow….this is amazing. But if you showed me this a year ago, I’d be overwhelmed.”
The lesson is simple: while clarity can be amazing, too much can send people into paralysis by analysis or complete and total shutdown.
Furthermore, as we mentioned above —this constant pursuit of clarity can become an avoidance mechanism for doing what really matters: getting started.
Myth 5: Clarity Guarantees Massive Results
Once you have clarity in life and business —you’re going to make it rain, Oprah’s going to be calling your cell phone and you’ll be on TV, right?
Good luck with that.
While clarity can be a powerful pre-cursor to massive results, it doesn’t guarantee anything.
The truth is lots of people have clarity that they’re on the path to lung cancer if they keep smoking and yet choose to do nothing.
It is my belief most people know what to do next, yet are riddled by fear and lack the courage to take the next step in their lives.
So, remember: clarity is a launchpad, but it’s what you do after that determines your (real) success.
Now, What?
So, there you have it —I wanted to share these with you in the hopes you don’t get stuck thinking you need all the clarity in the world.
These are some of the most common themes I see holding people back from actually having clarity, and most importantly:
Doing something with that clarity—what I call integration.
(This is why I created The Integration Experience audio training, which you can download for free on the front page of the site.)
As we wrap up another year, take the time and energy to get clear —but don’t let yourself fall into one of these myths and instead use your clarity to integrate every area of your life for 2019.
I’d love to hear from you on these myths of clarity in comments and if you have anything to add or share, post below and share please!
