Searching for Clarity

We all spend a good bit of time making decisions based on vague information or learned beliefs that cloud those decisions. Shouldn?t we spend more time searching for clarity?

We are at a bit of a disadvantage as human beings. Our brains are designed to notice patterns and create habits to conserve our energy. This; however, doesn?t always serve us as well as we might like. It?s very easy for us to let the beliefs and habits we have formed inform our decisions without any real clear thought. If we wanted to avoid this automatic thinking what would we need to do?

There are a variety of things we can do to get closer to clarity before making decisions. We can start by trying to examine our beliefs. This is not something that we do very often or even think about. However, those very beliefs that we don?t think about can cause us to make decisions that we regret later.

Take an inventory of your beliefs. Why do you have the beliefs you hold so strongly? Take the time to identify some of the beliefs (truths) you strongly believe. Where did these beliefs come from? As you may have noticed we all tend to find support for our beliefs. How could it be otherwise? If we are not able to continually validate our beliefs they might change over time. However, if we look out through our belief tinted glasses we tend to discount anything that might lead us to believe that our beliefs are not the only right answer.

Do we have any hope in our search for clarity? We do but first we must acknowledge that we want clarity. What are some of the things we can do to get closer to finding clarity?

Ask ourselves why we see things the way we do.

Ask ourselves what would have to be true for us to arrive at a different viewpoint.

Try to identify where our viewpoint came from.

Allow the possibility that there could be a viewpoint different than yours.

Identify how your beliefs are serving you.

We could go on and on with things you could do. I also know that it is difficult to identify and change our beliefs. In many cases those beliefs are below our level of consciousness and we just go with them and not always with positive results. These factors are why we are continually searching for clarity with less than great results in many cases.