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Editor’s Note: This is a guest article from Kyle Eschenroeder<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n Recall a moment of clarity.<\/span><\/p>\n A moment where tension untangled as insight suddenly appeared. The tension caused by the stress of not knowing what you feel you must. The release by an apparent answer. Few things feel better. <\/span><\/p>\n These moments have mostly eluded me, especially over the course of the last year. As traditional sources of clarity have waned, I\u2019ve broadened my search. <\/span><\/p>\n Normally, we attempt to achieve clarity through gathering more information or creating a shared definition. We gather information through research, <\/span>taking action<\/span><\/a>, observing, and reflection. Time creates space for these approaches to compound or interact, allowing an image to emerge. <\/span><\/p>\n Yet there are categories of dilemmas for which no amount of information or special knowledge will provide clarity. These are the topics that drive some of us into extended existential crises. Am I spending my life well? Am I giving my time to the right people? Am I supporting the right group? Do I need to update my political beliefs?<\/span><\/p>\n Clarity on these types of questions is rarely accessible through study, contemplation, or experimentation alone. Sometimes external shocks — like a near-death experience or the birth of a child — provide the necessary illumination. More often, however, the clarity we need seems to come through the development of certain qualities — traits like <\/span>self-reliance<\/span><\/a>, faith, and courage. <\/span><\/p>\n These and other perception-enhancing attributes can enable you to see with a clear lens. One that doesn\u2019t distort or block your view. <\/span><\/p>\n The more we understand clarity and where it comes from, the better chance we have at experiencing it outside of rare flashes of insight.<\/span><\/p>\n Clarity is a powerful sorting mechanism. It allows us to quickly dismiss that which is irrelevant or harmful.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to become addicted to your social feed when you\u2019re clear about your intentions. It\u2019s difficult to become overwhelmed by media and options when you\u2019re clear about what you\u2019re looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n Yuval Harari, the author of <\/span>Sapiens<\/span><\/i><\/a>, a book that distilled hundreds of thousands of years of human history into a few hundred pages, has said, \u201cIn a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.\u201d He says his ability to stay clear about the ultimate goal while writing a book is the only way he can achieve that level of clear synthesis. And he\u2019s dedicated to cultivating this ability: he not only meditates two hours daily, but also spends one to two months on a silent retreat each year.<\/span><\/p>\n In an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a>, Francis Ford Coppola explained that the way he maintains the clarity needed to make the myriad decisions required in directing a movie is by keeping a one-word theme in mind for each of his films: <\/span><\/p>\n when I made <\/span>The Conversation<\/span><\/i>, the theme was privacy. When I made <\/span>The Godfather<\/span><\/i>, the theme was succession. And I taught my children to try to know what that big theme is because . . . you have to answer so many questions every day, like should she have long hair or short hair; should she wear a dress or a skirt; should he have a car, or should it be a bicycle? And you know the answer, so you just fire them off. But once in a while, you don’t know the answer. And that’s when you say, well, what is the theme? <\/span>. . .<\/span><\/p>\n So [the] theme — in the case of <\/span>The Godfather<\/span><\/i> being succession, I would always know that as long as I was telling the story of the succession of — there was a king, and he had three sons. And one was very this, and one was very that . . . I knew . . . what I was doing.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Without clarity, there\u2019s nothing to focus on. Without clarity, there\u2019s no sanity.<\/span><\/p>\n The less clear a target, the more difficult it is to take a shot. <\/span><\/p>\n The less clear a task, the more difficult it is to tackle.<\/span><\/p>\n If we have momentum, motivation is everywhere. If we\u2019re stuck, confused, or beaten down, motivation becomes precarious. It\u2019s tempting for me to feel that the problem is motivation, that the energy I once had is gone. This is false, of course. The world is full of examples of those older and weaker than I with a seemingly limitless supply of energy. What\u2019s missing is clarity. <\/span><\/p>\n James Clear has suggested that \u201cMost people think they lack motivation when they really lack clarity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That well of sustainable motivation is unlikely to be found in another cup of coffee or latest nootropic. It may not be available after another cold shower, breathing exercise, or workout. <\/span><\/p>\n Exhaustion is often a symptom of a lack of clarity.<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes an organization doesn\u2019t need a solution; it just needs clarity. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>Ben Horowitz<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n When you can\u2019t sense what\u2019s around you, it\u2019s not safe to move. <\/span><\/p>\n Imagine driving on the interstate on a Friday night. There\u2019s a bunch of cars on the road, getting to wherever they\u2019re going for the weekend. Your car lights and those around you allow you to see where potential dangers are. You\u2019re probably going a little over the speed limit, listening to classic rock or the AoM podcast<\/a> or something, having a good time. Then huge rain droplets start hitting your windshield. Suddenly you can\u2019t see as well as you previously could. The lights start blurring, creating anxious moments of blindness as your windshield wipers race to clear the way for you to see what\u2019s ahead. It\u2019s pouring now. You see brake lights brightening through the downpour. You hit your brakes. An 80 mph trip becomes a 60 mph trip. People suddenly show what terrible drivers they are; you can\u2019t trust them in these new conditions. The blocked view — the loss of clarity — reduced the sense of safety on the road, throwing everyone off. <\/span><\/p>\n These kind of opaqueness-induced traffic jams occur not only on the road, but throughout the rest of life as well. A lack of a shared language and shared aims create acrimony in the culture wars<\/a>. Varying norms add friction to relationships. Confused standards bring chaos to organizations. <\/span><\/p>\n When you\u2019re not sure how what you say will be taken, you tend to say nothing. When you\u2019re not sure what constitutes proper decorum, you stand in the corner. When you\u2019re not sure what you\u2019re supposed to be going for, you sit on your hands. Think of the feeling of bewilderment when you\u2019re dropped into a sport or board game in which you don\u2019t have any idea of the rules. Misunderstanding and paralyzed inaction result.<\/span><\/p>\n When shared language and contexts are obvious, we\u2019re able to interact with each other more fluidly. There\u2019s less guesswork in our interactions with others. Think of the difference in giving directions to a native of your city versus a new visitor; with the former, you can be concise and nuanced, while with the latter your directions must be long-winded, detailed, rudimentary. Or think of the way one can communicate volumes to a spouse simply by raising an eyebrow.<\/span><\/p>\n A sense of clarity gives us a sense of safety, this allows us to trust in the world, and trust allows us to focus our energies in bolder and more productive ways. The better you understand the rules of the game, the harder you can play.<\/span><\/p>\n The clarity we seek can be found in a variety of sources. But not all are created equal.<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes creating clarity is as simple as writing on a problem until it clicks into focus. Sometimes clarity is found in conversation and education. And sometimes it\u2019s as straightforward as defining the rules of engagement. <\/span><\/p>\n But these approaches don\u2019t always do the trick.<\/span><\/p>\n Certain feelings, emotions, can also bring clarity — at least of a particular type.<\/span><\/p>\n Intense pain, for example, can bring the world into startling, brutal focus. This is true to such a degree that some argue pain is our fundamental anchor to reality. Few things command our attention as easily and steadily as pain. When sitting with your hand in ice water, it\u2019s difficult to pay attention to much else.<\/span><\/p>\n The point of pain becomes crystal clear, the rest of the world disappears.<\/span><\/p>\n Anger is similar. The world collapses onto a single point of indignation or injustice.<\/span><\/p>\n The clarity that comes with these sensations can focus our energies and provide the intense motivation to make a correction in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet they can quickly become elements which obscure rather than enhance our powers of perception. In his online book <\/span>Meaningness<\/a>, <\/span><\/i>David Chapman calls anger \u201ca distorted manifestation of clarity.\u201d If we\u2019re not able to ease the pain or anger, they will blind us to their solutions. At a certain threshold of pain, we\u2019ll pass out. If we hold onto anger too closely, for too long, our vision becomes myopic.<\/span><\/p>\n When common and confused sources of clarity fail us, developing a set of traits and mindsets can open up a different, wider lens on the world:<\/span><\/p>\n Like anger and pain, fear is another way to confused clarity, described famously by Frank Herbert in Dune<\/em><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Like pain or anger, fear violently directs our attention to its object. When fear is present, it\u2019s difficult to pay attention to anything else. When we deal with a fear quickly, it\u2019s not a big deal. When a fear is left to linger, it moves into the background, silently distorting the lens with which we perceive the world. A constant fear of being fired will make it difficult to have clarity at work. A constant fear of being abandoned will make clarity in our relationships a challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n Clarity is impossible without courage.<\/span><\/p>\n Mental clarity is the child of courage, not the other way around. \u2014Nassim Taleb<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Courage comes from exposure. The scale of exposure can change.<\/span><\/p>\n Writing the thoughts you want to share publicly in private first. Talking through a difficult work conversation with a trusted friend before bringing it to your boss. Adopting a dog before having a kid.<\/span><\/p>\n Ultimately, courage follows action in the face of fear. Malcolm Gladwell says, \u201cCourage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Courage creates clarity. <\/span><\/p>\n I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>Frank Herbert<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It is characteristic of the person who is emotionally in health that he can ‘make do’ with fewer guarantees . . . He does not need, therefore, what amounts to a guarantee that his truth . . . is all truth, or that his actions will inevitably be crowned with success. Since he experiences, by and large, an inner state of happiness and freedom, he can take it more or less for granted that he has somehow got hold of enough truth to go on for the time being \u2014 and that more is likely to come when he has gone far enough to need and find it. . . .<\/span><\/p>\n Faith of this sort is by no means a static element in the life of an individual. It can best be understood as the psychic permission he enjoys to go on from where he is.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014Harry and Bonaro Overstreet<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n What if you knew, in your bones, that it was impossible to take a wrong step?<\/span><\/p>\n What if perceived failure, sin, setback, pandemic . . . was all part of the perfect divine plan?<\/span><\/p>\n If what you\u2019ve done so far has led you here, and this is where you\u2019re meant to be, do future mistakes seem so dangerous?<\/span><\/p>\n If there are no wrong steps, must uncertainty lead to a loss of clarity?<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019ve made many missteps so far. You\u2019re here. You\u2019ve survived. <\/span><\/p>\n Is it such a stretch to have faith that you\u2019ll survive your next misstep? Is it possible that your next misstep could actually benefit you in the long run?<\/span><\/p>\n Emergent resolutions, unlike planned solutions, usually occur despite authoritarian goals and plans, not because of them. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>Venkatesh Rao<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Many of us like to talk about the fragility of plans by echoing Mike Tyson\u2019s \u201cEverybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.\u201d Still, it\u2019s difficult to maintain faith when we\u2019re forced to constantly rewrite our plans. <\/span><\/p>\n Developing a sense of faith in the importance of the present and possibility of the future can help us stay clear enough to see the new opportunities that come with change. <\/span><\/p>\n It becomes clear that the next step matters even if you don\u2019t know what comes after that. It becomes clear that perfection isn\u2019t required or even desired. It becomes clear that life is worth your effort. <\/span><\/p>\n Faith is the beginning of all good things. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>The Buddha<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity, this moment of honesty. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>Jay Z<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hova was struck by a moment of honesty, which gifted him a moment of clarity. <\/span><\/p>\n A lie is, by definition, a distortion. When we lie to ourselves, we remove our ability to see clearly. <\/span><\/p>\n In an effort to improve yourself, you may think you need to change yourself, and in order to change yourself, you may end up lying to yourself. This is because we reject pieces of ourselves that scare us, repressing them rather than integrating them. The collection of these rejected parts of ourselves is known as our \u201cshadow self.\u201d In <\/span>A Little Book on the Human Shadow<\/a>, <\/span><\/i>Robert Bly describes this process of rejection as putting parts of ourselves in a bag and talks about the danger of keeping them there: <\/span> when we put a part of ourselves in the bag it regresses. It de-evolves toward barbarism. Suppose a young man seals a bag at twenty and then waits fifteen or twenty years before he opens it again. What will he find? Sadly, the sexuality, the wildness, the impulsiveness, the anger, the freedom he put in have all regressed; they are not only primitive in mood, they are hostile to the person who opens the bag.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n More succinctly, he says that \u201cEvery part of our personality that we do not love will become hostile to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The process of correcting this is slow and can take many forms. Bly suggests that \u201cUsing language consciously seems to be the most fruitful method of retrieving shadow substance scattered out on the world.\u201d Fundamentally, though, seeing ourselves clearly requires honesty with ourselves, and honesty comes from self-acceptance.<\/span><\/p>\n The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. \u2014Carl Rogers<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Acceptance isn\u2019t stagnation, it\u2019s seeing clearly. You may want something you feel you shouldn\u2019t, but ignoring a desire won\u2019t make it go away. <\/span><\/p>\n Is the felt lack of clarity coming from not admitting <\/span>what you want<\/span><\/a> or who you\u2019ve become?<\/span><\/p>\n Above all, do not lie to yourself. A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>Fyodor Dostoyevsky <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n There is an insecurity inside us that comes with the need to know what the world \u2014 our world \u2014 will be like and should be like and how we\u2019ll feel about it. When these answers are inevitably hard to come by, it’s tempting to pretend we’ve nevertheless got it all figured out. But this overconfidence creates another confused, fragile sense of clarity, and gets us into trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n Your mistake was not in imagining things you could not know \u2014 that is, after all, what imagination is for. Rather, your mistake was in unthinkingly treating what you imagined as though it were an accurate representation of the facts. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>Daniel Gilbert, <\/span>Stumbling on Happiness<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Part of humility is recognizing that the world is, to a large degree, unpredictable. We don\u2019t know what the economy will do (few guessed that the stock market would reach all-time highs the same year we experienced a world-shaking pandemic). We aren\u2019t even good at guessing what will make us happy. <\/span><\/p>\n Humility allows us to stop conflating certainty and clarity. We can be clear about what we must do without being certain about how things will turn out. <\/span><\/p>\n If you hold a healthy awareness of your own mortality, your eyes will be opened to the grandeur and glory of life, and that will evoke all of the virtues I\u2019ve named, as well as those I haven\u2019t, such as hope, generosity, and gratitude. <\/span>If the unexamined life is not worth living, it\u2019s equally true that the unlived life is not worth examining. \u2014Parker J. Palmer<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Someone, at some point, has surely recommended that you meditate on your death, even if it was indirectly as a call to YOLO. And this is indeed a worthy suggestion; meditating sincerely on the inevitable cessation of experience can provide a clarity unavailable when we take eternity for granted.<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes, though, this falls flat for me. Sometimes I think of my death and shrug. Like the Stoics said, death is going to wherever we were before birth.<\/span><\/p>\n In moments like that, what hits me is this: <\/span>Have I joined the walking, breathing dead?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n in all corners of the earth there are waiting ones sitting who hardly know to what extent they are waiting, and still less that they wait in vain. <\/span>\u2014<\/span>Friedrich Nietzsche<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n When I come to the realization that I\u2019ve been living a month or more in quiet desperation I become terrified. Few things are more disturbing than waking up to the fact that my struggles have been merely for survival and that I haven\u2019t taken a moment to appreciate the impossible beauty of a tree or sky for an extended period of time.<\/span><\/p>\n Realizing that we\u2019ve joined the walking dead can provide a similar type of clarity. What\u2019s important comes into view, as do the things that have lulled us into a stupor.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Importance of Clarity<\/span><\/h3>\n
Clarity Provides Focus<\/h3>\n
Clarity Provides Motivation<\/h3>\n
Clarity Provides a Sense of Safety<\/h3>\n
The Qualities That Create Clarity<\/span><\/h3>\n
Courage<\/h3>\n
Faith<\/h3>\n
Honesty<\/h3>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nHumility<\/h3>\n
Memento (Living) Mori<\/h3>\n