Clarity in this context means a better understanding of your life.
Where you’ve been.
Where you are.
Where you want to go.
Those can be surprisingly difficult things to understand. Especially if you haven’t had the chance to clear your mind from all the busy thoughts that fill it up.
Finding clarity can be even more challenging today because we’re constantly seeking stimulation.
If we’re sitting still for even a second we reach for our phones, for stimulation. Some of us even prefer shocking ourselves than sitting alone with our thoughts.
But letting your mind wander and making up stories and being creative are all good things.
Want to find more clarity in your life?
Here are some great activities for achieving it.
1. Gardening
Gardening has been studied and the results are positive. They include physical benefits, but also mental benefits including clarity.
The key with this one and with all the items below are that you know them so well after doing them for awhile that you really don’t think about them while you’re doing them.
In sports, you’ll often hear athletes talking about being in “The Zone”. Here is a great, short video explaining this state.
You’re so good, confident and so focused at the task at hand that your mind is free to think about other things.
2. Mowing The Lawn
Mowing the lawn can get pretty boring. But it’s a great time to think through your life.
It’s repetitive. You’ve done it a thousand times. Even the noise helps tune out the world around you so you can get lost in your thoughts.
I used to love working a golf course where I would cut the grass all day. It allowed me to think through a lot of things about my life.
3. Driving
Have you ever been driving and kind of “woken up”? Where you’ve driven several miles, but you don’t really remember them?
And I’m not talking about when you’re doing risky things. Perfectly normal days. Maybe just the commute to or from work.
You’re so used to doing it. You’ve done it so many times that your brain can kind of shut off and do it on auto pilot.
This probably works better a little outside of urban settings where traffic isn’t a huge issue or distraction.
But I’ve met a lot of people that come into work with great thoughts and ideas because they were thinking clearly during their morning commute.
4. Cleaning
I’m not a huge fan of cleaning. I will do it. I’m more of a tidying type of person than a big cleaner, but I find that when I do clean that I do some good thinking.
When I’m scrubbing the floor I don’t really need to put too much thought into the scrubbing. That leaves my brain free to think about other things.
5. Walking
Some very successful people have been walkers. They liked to walk alone or with people. Steve Jobs is perhaps one of the best known walkers.
When was the last time you thought about your form when walking?
You probably can’t remember.
That’s because you don’t need to think about it. You have a lot of practice. You’re a master at it.
Your brain can be free to think about other things.
6. Cooking
Specifically the actions of cutting or stirring. Things that are repetitive.
I also find that the other senses get heightened like smell and touch. This seems to have a positive impact on thinking and finding clarity as well.
When you notice things around you it’s this weird thing where you can draw parallels with other areas of life.
7. Knitting
My grandma used to sit and knit (or crochet) for hours. She was almost in like a trance when she was doing it.
Yet she seemed at ease.
I know that she had issues with worrying. A lot of us do. And we know it’s bad for us. We know that most of our worries never come true.
Doing activities that help with clarity can allow you to overcome worry. It allows your mind to rationally think through your life.
8. Showering
This is one of my favorite stories.
Woody Allen likes to interrupt his days with showers. He finds that if he gets stuck on something in his work that taking a shower usually clears things up and he can get back to work. He can get back in the flow.
We’ve all heard the cliche that we do our best thinking in the shower.
Maybe it’s a cliche for a reason…
Conclusion
Heck, sitting at your computer all day can wear you out. I like to think it’s easier than working on the coal mines, but it can still wear you down.
We live busy lives. We’re stimulated all the time. People are always shouting at us for our attention. Just visit a news website. The headlines scream. The ads scream. It’s crazy.
Yet we all need clarity. Time away from our phones.
Try an activity on the list above. Let your mind slip into the zone or the flow.
It’ll allow you to understand what life is all about for you.
