3 Tips for Clarity of Mind
Do you ever find yourself doing too many things at the same time, yet not fully satisfied with the outcomes or results?
Do you find yourself experiencing strong emotions, yet fail to recognize both the trigger and underlying reasons for it?
Do you find it difficult to arrive at decisions or conclusions?
Do you find yourself stuck between the cause and the effect?
Do you find difficulty in understanding the purpose and focus of it?
These are some of the common symptoms one experiences when we lack clarity in our minds and thoughts.
At times, we become so engrossed in some never-ending work that we rarely find time to even experience any emotions arising in it.
Way back in 2006, I used to work as a recruiter, always mired by deadline targets and never-ending client needs, so much so that I lost track of what life was outside my work. I worked like a machine, which was focused only on delivering results, completely oblivious to my surroundings.
This kind of life went on for 2 years, in which I also got back to back promotions ,but ironically the success paved way to more confusions and anxieties, the need to do better than before, to sustain the momentum, to come up with more, all of this overwhelmed me to the extent that I lost clarity and find myself caught up in a continuous rigmarole!
It took me quite a while to pull myself out of this rut through self-analysis and self-care, which involved taking a long pause, reflecting on my higher purpose and asking myself Why I was doing what I was doing.
So, when I recently came across a prospective client, almost caught up in a similar situation, my first response was filled with a lot of compassion and empathy, as the client narrated his story, it sounded to me as if I was listening to my own story BUT from someone else.
At the completion of his narration, shared an activity with the client called the wheel of Life where we both together took a deep analysis of his (client) various aspects of life, found the existing gaps and in the consecutive sessions we were able to generate goals to achieve the missing gaps, when I experience the activity was able to acheive the desired results, I thought to myself, to share my leanings, through a blog post, because a good way of learning is also in sharing knowledge which grows as much as it is shared.
So, whenever you find yourself caught amidst confusion, seeking clarity of mind, follow these tips and activities.
Tips:
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Never devote your life to a single activity; life is larger and a sum of many parts. A single life has multiple dimensions (career, relationship, health, finance, family happiness, etc ). Never focus on just one or choose one over the other; rather, learn to balance all of it as much as possible .
- Yes, it may sound weird, but when you are caught up in too many things, just for 5 minutes, keep everything aside, sit in a silent corner of your house or any place convenient to you and stay silent for couple of minutes, then pen down your thoughts, if you do not like to write, just record your voice, talk to yourself, say all that you are feeling and experiencing inside you.
- Do this activity twice or thrice and let all of it come out.(either on paper or in a recording)
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Go back and read your statements, and divide them into 3, 5 or 7 categories, as an example (Category 1 Family, Category 2 Health, Category 3 Relationship)
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Under each category, assign a column and title it (Why) and write
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You will observe that a particular category may have no gaps, while some CATEGORIES will be missing almost everything.
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Evaluate your ‘Why s and write more details if required
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Once you complete this activity, you may get a holistic view of all dimensions of your life, including those in need of attention and those that are doing well.
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Finally, set goals for yourself, against those categories that need attention, assign a timeline to it and keep this plan always handy.
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Make sure you have your plan, which is either pinned up somewhere and is easily accessible, for you to read every day.
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Monitor your progress on it.
Clarity of mind ONLY comes when we empty our mind and move our thoughts to either a piece of paper or record it.
Then we go back and reflect UPON it, especially our whys.
This activity is a culmination of movement, evaluation and monitoring
- Move the thoughts
- Evaluate your Why’s &
- Monitor the goals set against your Why’s
The Table below is an example; the details shared are just for illustrative purposes only
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Category 1 -Health (Current status)
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Why /how
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Goal &Timeline
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In the pink of Health
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Regular exercise and a Healthy Diet
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To maintain the current Gym schedule
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Category 2 -Career
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Why
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Goal & Timeline
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Dissatisfied with the Job
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Good role, but a nosy boss
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Looking to move to another location offering a better role and opportunities by the end of this year
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Category 3 -Relationship
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Why
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Goal & Timeline
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Single and Happy
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Not yet mentally prepared for commitment
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To let the status quo continue, unless my mother really coerced me to commit 🙂
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Conclusion: The tips mentioned above is a basic activity usually used and practiced within coaching, and you don’t have to be an expert to do it, anytime you find yourself caught up in a confused state of mind, go ahead use it and be sorted.
As a Life Coach, I’ve assisted many through this simple yet very effective activity, which opens up insights into those areas of life that we seldom pay attention to.
If you need assistance in understanding it in more detail , you can connect here
Until next time ……………………….
Best Regards,
Mehnaz Amjad