How Do You Clean the Windows in Your Mind?
If only getting clarity were as easy as spraying yourself
with a big bottle of window cleaner (Don’t try it; some of those cleaners are
filled with chemicals). Last week I talked about why having clarity was so
important. This week, I want to talk about HOW to get that clarity.
Finding clarity has to do with sorting through all the
things that capture your attention to find what really counts.
The first step to finding clarity is to capture the
things that are on your mind so that you can do that sorting. You can do this
in a number of different ways, depending upon your preference. You can use a
pad of paper, a flipchart, create a file on your computer, or find a big white
board to write or draw on. You’re going to do a Brain Dump. Find a time when you can sit uninterrupted for 15 or 20
minutes. Write, draw, or somehow capture the things that are racing around in
your head. If you want, you can set up categories if that fits what’s coming out.
You might have a category for business ideas, things you want to fix in your
home, things you want to do or have in your relationships, etc. When I do this
process, I often break things into the following categories:
· Health
· Work/Career
· Physical
Environment
· Relationships
· Spirituality
· Fun/Recreation
· Financial
Within
each category, I may have subcategories. For instance, my work is to coach
people, but I also write fiction and non-fiction. I can break the Work category
into Coaching and Writing since they tend to be pretty different. I’m doing
them both, and both matter to me.
Essentially,
what you’re doing is brainstorming in order dump what’s taking up space and
energy in your life. You may want to keep this list around for a week or so,
and add to it as soon as other ideas pop into your head.
Once
you’ve captured most of it, the next step is to sort through it. Put a star
next to the things that are most important to you. You can even use different
colors to highlight levels of importance, or use multiple stars to indicate
what is most important to you. Once you’ve done that, take a look at it. What
comes out as most important for you? Hopefully, that will bring you some
clarity about what you need to put first.
Here
are some examples:
One woman I coached discovered that her
relationship with God was most important. When she felt connected spiritually,
everything else flowed more easily. What became clear to her was that she
needed to plan her life in such a way that she always took the time to stay connected.
Another woman did this with her husband,
and they discovered that financial issues, specifically their debt, affected
every other area of their lives, and especially their relationship. It now
became clear that they needed to come up with a plan to reduce the amount they
owed.
A man I worked with discovered that he
was so focused on his job that he didn’t make time for his family. Weekends
were taken up with maintaining the house and car. He wanted to make his
relationships more important. Once he was clear that he wanted his family to be
most important, he carved out time during the evenings and weekends to spend
with them. He discovered that a simple reallocation of his time made a huge
difference. A half hour playing a video game with his son and special time with
his daughter helping her rearrange her room left time to spend with his wife as
well.
Having
clarity doesn’t mean you have to give up everything else you do. It is about
making sure you focus attention on what is most important to you. It is about
making your time and energy count. When
you do that, most likely your life will begin to feel more fulfilling. You’ll
feel less like you’re wasting your time and energy on tasks that seem
meaningless.
If
you want help with this process, feel free to call me at (865) 983-7544 or
email me at Linda@InnerResourceCenter.com. We
can set up some time to talk about your situation, and if you’d like, we can
set up a Strategy Session to help you sort things out. When you find clarity,
it makes things so much simpler. Decisions become much easier to make because
you can determine whether an opportunity or project brings you closer to
reaching your main goal or not.