How do you gain clarity about what you want from life? A lot of people will give the simple answer, "I just want to live comfortable, have fun, and raise a family." That's not clear enough and something inside you tells you thats not clear enough as those words leave your mouth, but you're comfortable with the answer. Take a thoughtful moment and reflect on that question and answer in detail. The truth about clarity is that it will yield different outcomes for us all. So, here is my testament to what clarity means to me and the steps I am currently taking to define clarity within my life.
By definition, clarity is the quality of being clear, in particular. The clarity I am pursuing is of the mind. I know what I wish to achieve, it is written down in full detail. I have visualized and I have begun to take action on my goals, but converting my lifestyle to one that will allow me to reach my goals has been difficult. My bad habits are difficult to break, but they are starting to shape up. I am literally up now at 6am writing this after what feels like a breakthrough. I have been struggling getting an early start on the day and being productive with my time and now here I am up early and getting to work. I believe I can say that the recent choices Ive made to control myself in other areas of my life are working for me.
As I work on developing a lifestyle of success, I still find myself battling with mental fog, anxiety and overthinking. The following can happen during any time of productivity and it gets to be frustrating. If you have similar issues, one thing that has helped me is having support of a close friend who you are able to call when you're having one of your attacks or moments of confusion. This close friend should be one who you can rely on to empower you and send positivity to reinforce your personal belief and outlook on what you're focused on. Shoutout to my brother Maury, love you bro.
Although having that support and positive influence in your corner is a blessing and a necessity for tough times, support alone won't get you to where you want to be. The common denominator in everything you wish to achieve is YOU. So, you will have to take control over what you can. In my life, I have begun to practice saving more ferociously, keeping myself to a $15 a day budget towards only food and gas. Of course when bills or other necessities come up, they get paid but if its not a necessity, I won't think twice if it'll cost more than $15 that day. I am a 25 year old black man with no kids so I am easily able to hold myself to that daily budget when my self control is in effect. In a months time, with a temporary minimum wage job, I was able to save almost $2k. If I can do it, as a former habitual spender aka Mista 'I Burn Holes In My Pocket', I believe anyone can. The focus is to spend WELL within my means. This practice offers a degree of clarity because it helps create resources for me and my social life has been put into a better balance.
Other areas where I have begun to flex self control includes no drinking and no smoking (I am a health enthusiast that is pro marijuana when used for medical purposes). Not partaking in these activities helps me save money but my practice offers mental clarity and energy for the tasks that need to be tackled. I don't wake up dazed and confused, groggy or slow after a night of drinking or smoking and the start of my day is much more productive. Another vice I have chosen to take control of is sex.
Sexual abstinence is new to me but it is a process I am willing to endure for the sake of my future. This includes no intercourse with women, no porn, and no masturbation for the sake of cultivating that energy and directing it towards my goal. This choice was in the making for some time after reading a few books, one of which was 'Think & Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill, mentioning how sexual energy can become one of man's greatest weapons. It offers progressive mental health in reference to clarity and direction. The shit sounded crazy. Give up sex for what fam?! But as I've set my sights on a clear goal that I am hungry to achieve, I am willing to practice as much self control for the betterment of my lifestyle as I need to. I'm aiming for the top and nothing less.
I came to discover that great boxers like Muhammed Ali, Mike Tyson, and Pacquiao practiced this type of self control, each of them believing it increased their focus, productivity, energy and will. Other notables include Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla, Jazz legend Miles Davis, and Kanye West at one point. Kanye once spoke in a interview for Playboy about his sexual addiction at a young age that he was able to gain control of. "People ask me a lot about my drive. I think it comes from, like, having a sexual addiction at a really young age," he says. "Look at the drive that people have to get sex—to dress like this and get a haircut and be in the club in the freezing cold at 3 A.M., the places they go to pick up a girl. If you can focus the energy into something valuable, put that into work ethic.." Shit, my college track coach used to tell us to refrain from sex during track season "cause it makes ya legs weak, boy." But that just wasn't happening back then, at all fam. Nowadays, I am more mature and have decided that my goals are more important than chasing short term satisfaction.
Clarity! Direction and the focus to accomplish!
This is my testament about what clarity means to me and how it takes form within my life. I hope this can help you in your journey, in one form or another. Dig deep and find that Glo. You have powers, be Mighty.
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