The Importance of Clarity

If we don’t know where we’re going how are we going to get there?

It seems an obvious question but you’d be surprised how many people don’t really know where they’re going. We get up and get on with life every day, often wearing busy as a badge of honour and then we’re surprised when we stop to reflect on life at our birthday, during our summer holiday or at New Year and realise that we haven’t moved forward at all!

I’ve been guilty of this in the past. On the go all of the time and not actually making any real progress on the things that are important to me. The things that will make me happier. The things that will make life richer and more fulfilling.

This has changed over the last seven years since I was made redundant and made the enormous, and at the time pretty scary, decision to start my own business. Suddenly everything was my responsibility. How I earned money, managed my time, my career, my personal development. Everything.

And I didn’t get it right straight away. There was a lot of trial and error. A lot of learning along the way. My biggest wake up call was my health. I put on weight. I was exhausted all of the time and no matter how hard I tried that weight would not budge. It was not until I was doing my coaching diploma and took the time to really examine my values and what I wanted from my life that I realised I’d been too busy to notice that I wasn’t really content. Not unhappy but that low level discontent. That low level of discontent that I know from past experience can, if left unchecked become something more serious. That can tip into unhappiness or even depression.

You know the kind of discontent. Life isn’t necessarily bad, in fact you have what you said you wanted. But it just isn’t fulfilling you in the way you hoped or expected.

I did an exercise that helped me to get really clear about what my top ten values are. The things that really matter to me. The values in my top ten include freedom and balance, loving bonds, creativity, integrity and self-respect, generosity, personal development/growth, achievement, and mental and physical health. 

This list didn’t surprise me, but when I went through the process to help me put them in priority order mental and physical health came out top and that was a surprise.

Over the next few days as I thought about this I realised why life felt so off. Why it wasn’t lighting me up. I was working ridiculous hours for my clients – ten and eleven hour days were the norm. I was travelling and away from home for 39 weeks a year eating the food that was available whether that would be my first choice or not. I was exhausted from the long days and lack of sleep. I was overeating because I was so tired. I wasn’t exercising enough because I was so exhausted.

It was like a lightbulb going off in my head. I reduced my working hours and prioritised sleep and realised that I was getting the same amount of work done in less time as I was feeling so much more refreshed. I was eating better because I wasn’t so tired and I was getting out in the fresh air for walks because I now had the energy. Everything felt better as I was honouring that number one value. I was putting my mental and physical health first and life was lighter, brighter and more fulfilling as a result.

I now make sure that any goals I have are aligned with those values and I help my clients to do the same. If ever I’m struggling with one of my goals I check back to make sure that either it or the way I’m trying to achieve it is really aligned with what’s important to me.

To me clarity also means knowing why I’m pursuing a goal in life. If I’m not clear about my why then the chances are when things begin to get challenging or life gets busy I’ll lose focus and motivation. It’s the same with my clients. It’s when we are really clear about why we’re trying to achieve something that we are more focused and determined.

Take for example if a client tells me that she wants to get a promotion at work and earn more money. We take time to explore why she wants this. What will the money or promotion give her? What will having more money mean for her? For her family? What will the money allow her to do and to have? Who will she be when she has that promotion? What will it do to her confidence levels? What effect will the promotion have on other areas of her life? What may she have to say no to by saying yes to a promotion?

We make sure that the answers are about things that she really wants in her life that match up with her values. When we hit that sweet spot where achieving the goal will bring her closer to the life that she really wants then we know that she's much more likely to really go for it. That she’ll put in the work on her confidence levels to get there. That she’ll take the courageous action to move out of her comfort zone and that she’ll keep going when it feels hard.

I talk about confidence, clarity and courage all of the time because they are so important. I specialise in helping women with their confidence so that they can lead the lives that light them up. This week I’ve been running a free five day grow your confidence challenge with a fabulous group of women in my Pathways to Possibilities facebook group. It’s been wonderful to watch confidence blossom. If you’ve taken part thank you so much for being part of such a fabulous experience. If you haven’t – don’t worry you haven’t missed out because this is just the beginning.

I'm very excited to launch my signature course, Your Pathway to Confidence, Clarity and Courage. This is a five-week programme designed to give you the knowledge and tools to build your confidence, get real clarity about what you want from your life and why and then move into courageous action making real progress on something that’s important to you. Even if you have a full and busy life.

Click here to find out more and book your spot.

Imagine having the confidence, clarity and courage to start taking action towards what you want.

• Increased confidence levels so that you can trust your decisions and pursue your dreams.

• More understanding about what makes you tick and the tools to ensure your mind is working for you, not against you.

• Clarity about what you want from life and why, so that there will be nothing holding you back from taking action to get you there.

• Having taken courageous action towards creating the life you dream of so that you can finally feel like you’re on your life’s path, not someone else’s!

How will it feel to know that you’re confident, in control, taking action and looking forward to the future you’re shaping for yourself?
 
This course is for you if

• You’re ready to create the life that lights you up.

• You’re ready to overcome anything holding you back so you can feel joy.

• You’re ready to feel excited about life and take action.

And this course is for you even if you’re super busy, feeling overwhelmed, stressed or totally uninspired by life right now!

The course runs from 27th July until 30th  August. Here’s the link to find out more and book your place now.

It’s already fantastic value at £247 and as a further bonus I’m giving a 1-to-1 coaching call worth £75 for the first three people who sign up.

Click here today to secure your place and start living a life that lights you up.

I'm really looking forward to being part of your journey to confidence, clarity and courage!