Can Too Much Clarity Be a Bad Thing?

By Kristin Smith August 24, 2016January 30, 2018

I have personally struggled with trying to squash the clarity monster.

I would push my desires, my work, my writing, and everything in between away merely because I was engulfed in the illusion that clarity creates. I would start to write or start to begin a launch just to kick it the side when a little doubt entered my mind. I found myself listening and watching other like-minded professionals and one common message seemed to be clarity + a defined niche. I am the first one to tell you that as soon as I became lost in the cesspool of other people’s opinions and directions, I lost complete sight of where I was going.

Ladies, this might sound completely crazy here, but I am willing to appear a little insane to get this message across to you. I firmly believe “too much clarity” clouds the vision.

How can that be, right? It is simple.

The more you overthink, the more you pull yourself away from your purpose, your work, or any other actionable step you must take to move your life closer to where you want to be.

Think of your work or perhaps a big decision you are not making for whatever reason. How many times do you continue to play it all out in your head or how many times have you written it down in your notebook? You see, I believe when you convince yourself that you are tying to gain “clarity” around the situation (this is my favorite sentence when I am dragging my feet) it is really because you are secretly looking for validation or confirmation. Do not get me wrong, you do need clarity, as it is necessary, BUT too much clarity can throw mud in the clear waters you just worked so hard to clean.

You Are Your Own Validation…

I was the queen of seeking validation and approval from others. I kept pitching my ideas, my work, the decisions I had to make to others under the mask of trying to get crystalized thinking around it, but I was merely delaying what needed to be done because I wasn’t confident to just start. I had so many emotions tied to putting my work in the world or making tough decisions and the main emotion was the fear of judgement. I was so afraid to be judged, which is what kept me in the holding pattern of “clarifying and cleaning up my ideas.”

Don’t Stay Stuck in the Holding Pattern…

I do believe you need to gain some authentic insight on whatever you are about to turn into crazy amazing action, but I no longer believe you should hang out there for long. Staying in the holding pattern can fool you into believing that you are being productive and moving forward. In reality, the longer you stay there, the higher the chances your work or actionable steps will become blurred and almost no longer recognizable. You will wonder where your passion and excitement went, when in reality it was there the entire time, but buried under a pile of too much clarity!

What Can You Do Now…

What is it you want to launch or take action on that you absolutely know you are just keeping in the holding pattern? Think with me for a moment. OK, now that you have it I want you to ask yourself the following questions:

Why is this action still in the holding pattern?
Why are you overthinking it?
What do you need to do to move it from the holding pattern to the runway?

When asking yourself the above questions, you will find the right amount of clarity you truly need to take action now. Don’t be alarmed if you decide no action is necessary! If that is the case, park the idea for a bit and move on to what you need to do now.

Let’s recap, girls. What you need to take away from this article is simple! Ready? Good.

Stop hiding behind the excuse of “gaining clarity” and take action now
Move the action from the holding pattern to the runway or park it and go on to what needs your attention now to bring you closer to the lifestyle you want.

What you are absolutely letting go of today is over-thinking it. What did you walk away learning today? Yes, you got it! Too much clarity is as bad as throwing mud in clean water.

You are enough. Your ideas, your work, your decisions will ALL work out because you are a woman warrior who knows what needs to be done! Now go on. Go take some action today!

XOXO,

Kristin

About the author

Kristin Smith

Kristin Smith is a trained coach who seeks to empower women to step into their best life now. No excuses! She left her corporate life to explore the world of business and life coaching. Kristin received her Master's degree from the University of Northern Colorado and graduated from Coach Training Alliance and now powerfully coaches women in business and in life.

Kristin is a mover and a shaker. She spent many years plagued by the disease to please and was ready to get clear on her life and what she was divinely designed to do, which was to live on purpose. If you are looking to go from inaction to action in your life, career, business or as a stepmom seeking to be powerfully amazing, contact her today!