Today’s post is inspired by events that have happened to me in the past 24 hours. Nothing Earth-shattering but worth describing as each event brought greater clarity to me. The general theme of this blogpost is how to develop and maintain clarity with the end goal being making time for success.
Clarity Lesson #1:
The first lesson I had was from last night, while thinking about the concept of clutter. I had a bit of an epiphany and that was that clutter puts us in the habit of ignoring what is right in front of us and allowing our clarity and our clear view to be partially blocked. I have been thinking intensively about the topic of clutter for at least 20 years since I began my own journey to clear it — so this thought really struck me as being very important. How could I have been staring at my own clutter and not seen the dramatic impact it has on me and my life?
Of course I have felt it in other ways — in the shame of having it, by the irritation of not being able to be fully successful in clearing it, in hearing the nagging voice in my head that reminds me it could be dealt with “right now” or “very soon.”
I was super excited about the epiphany because now I get to have that super-charged understanding of the cost of having clutter when I coach my clients how to deal with theirs. Yes — this is an area where the teacher teaches what she has not fully mastered herself!
Clarity Lesson #2:
The second lesson I had came from my exercise class this morning. The dance class I go to was 3/4 of the way done. [It is an aerobic class — not too intense, but not for slackers either.] It was at that point that Jenny the teacher said something like “remember to hold your breath!” I had to catch my breath to fully understand what she was saying because at the moment I was closer to being out of breath than being able to hold my breath. She went on to explain that as a dancer you need to learn how to manage and regulate how and when you breathe in order to maintain your high energy through to the end of the dance. Then I understood, because this matches so much of life.
We can think that pushing through is the way to get more and to get faster, but sometimes it is slowing down or even holding back just at the right moments so that you have enough momentum to reach the finish line. So much of life is this. Energy regulation and knowing that you are in command of that process are keys to your success.
Clarity Lesson #3:
The third lesson I had was a bit harder for me to stomach. It was 6 p.m. and I was getting ready for a podcast interview and about 10 minutes before the meeting my intuition told me that something was awry. I had just switched podcast recording software and I didn’t recall sending an invitation link to my podcast guest. Turns out I also missed an email from her where she was inquiring what the details of our meeting were. And it also turns out that the system that I usually rely on to remind me that I have a standing call at 6 p.m. had run out of reminder notices and that not only was I double booked, I was also running the risk of being late to my 7 p.m. Zoom meeting with another group.
My mind could barely keep up with all of the accidental mess-ups I had created and the coincidences of the mistakes happening all in the same hour. But after scrambling to explain the situation to just about everyone and making sure I was thinking clearly about the situation and of course sending apologies, I saw this clearly for what it was — a message that I needed to upgrade all of my systems of keeping things organized and together. I felt it in my soul that this was a great moment even if it felt a bit of a disaster. I was proud of myself for coping without stressing too much and for pulling out a lesson from it that I shared with my 7 p.m. group.
The Overall Lesson:
So the overall lesson of this blogpost (the first in a VERY long time!) is that we can gain clarity in so many moments in our daily lives if we allow the lessons to come through, if we keep our eyes and ears open to them, and if we make sure our view is clear.
Wishing you a world of clarity.
Best,
Christine
