for some reason or another, a lot of conversations lately have revolved around the topics of confusion, chaos and a general feeling of being overwhelmed-by-it-all.
people struggling to make sense of ther lives, to make something of their lives, to find a richer meaning to their lives.
clarity is the first step
before we can begin to unravel the tangle of our everday lives, there needs to be some sort of an idea around the why, what and where of what we really want from life.
it’s a simple concept, but one that most people don’t even realise they need to consider. most of us muddle through, accept at face value the situations that ensnare us, and leave it to the gods to decide if we might stumble on a simpler, easier, more fulfilling path.
we don’t of course, generally speaking…
not unless we make a conscious effort to get a clear picture of where we would like to go. and that takes a serious investment of time, effort and patience.
at first it will be incredibly frustrating. it will feel like thinking about stuff actually makes it worse. it will seem as though there is just too much stuff to get into line.
the only answer to this is persistence.
eventually your conscious thoughts will be invaded by ideas, emotions and feelings from the sub-conscious realms. these will guide your conscious thinking, and (eventually) put your thoughts on the right track.
clarity begets simplicity
once you start getting clear on things, you can start to see various aspects of your life for what they are.
- how much time and energy do they take up?
- how high a priority are they, really?
- how much time and energy SHOULD they be taking up?
- which things should you ditch, postpone or alter?
as things fall into place and you start to construct a prioritised view of your life, you can start to make decisions and commitments.
you can more easily determine which things are going to receive the bulk of your time, passion and energy.
you can more easily part ways with things that do not serve any useful purpose (or, worse still, that work against you)
that’s when life gets simple (note that I didn’t say “easier”!)
a funny thing happens when life gets simpler and you have clarity
think about it, you’ve got a clear vision of how you want your life to be. you’ve got a clear picture of what is important (and what is not). you’ve even had a bit of a spring-clean, removing unimportant tasks and commitments from your life.
so suddenly you have space to think, space to breathe, space to enjoy.
you have renewed passion and energy for projects that are meaningful to you.
you expend far less energy on “guilt” (e.g. I want to do X but should be doing trivial thing Y)
how can life NOT be better in those circumstances?