Clarity

Most days were spent in a mental fog, during my 30s. This was due to a combination of sleep apnea and working the graveyard shift. Regardless of the amount of sleep and coffee intake, I rarely felt mentally up to par. I felt very grateful for the few days the brain fog cleared away, allowing me to feel fully alive.

The brain fog diminished somewhat after altering my sleep schedule. It was even less pronounced after my physician prescribed a C-PAP breathing machine for the sleep apnea problem. The clarity was a boon to my life in general, and my career in particular. Then, just prior to my 40th birthday, the brain fog vanished.

Nowadays, the brain fog makes a cameo appearance only when I’m authentically tired, such as after strenuous physical tasks, or if noisy weather has interrupted overnight sleep.

I’m very possessive of mental clarity now that I have it. Clarity is a quiet power and a requirement for effective decision making and living life in general. If you’ve ever had chronic mental fog, you know how valuable mental clarity really is. You never take it for granted.

A side benefit of the return of this clarity is the personality shift from passive living to assertive living. When living in a brain fog, one cannot effectively think strategically. A lot of trust and control is unwisely placed into the hands of others. When that happens, it’s easy for others to steer you off-course. It’s difficult to maintain whatever progress towards goals has been made. When my mental clarity finally returned it felt as if the higher self had reengaged and I was able to think and perform in ways that mattered most to me.

The lack of mental clarity often results in a lack of decisiveness about life choices. This contributes to difficulty in moving forward in what is needed to get unstuck from frustrating conditions. The mind gets trapped in scattered thinking causing panic and further loss of control. In some cases, I let go of rational thinking and surrendered to magical thinking that turned out to be an escape from facing life head-on and honestly.

The return of mental clarity caused a corresponding awakening of intelligence and the return of the ability to understand scenarios and to confidently make crucial decisions. I no longer felt helpless and lost regarding life’s options. Delays, hampered by worry diminished greatly. I was finally able to move forward.

Mental clarity is a superpower that enables personal authority and realistic control in everyday living. This results in a perceptible “aura” of confidence that other people respect and honor. You are honest about who you are, which feeds the growth of further mental clarity.

One of the beauties of clarity is that objectivity takes more of a role in decision-making. Opinionated thinking recedes. The more open-mindedness puts one in a more enlightened position. This helps one judge scenarios and how self-limiting beliefs get in the way of progress. There is less dithering and waffling in the decision-making process. This objective mental power lets you cut to the point with maximum efficiency. When mental clarity is in tune with one’s surroundings, the decisiveness is done in a caring, empathetic manner. There is a healthy balance between detachment and compassion.

In short, mental clarity allows us to use intellect, logic, and intuition in fair measure to navigate through obstacles that pop up in life. We can make wise, informed decisions while maintaining fairness and compassion towards people who will be affected by our thoughts and actions. We feel more confident that our clear, objective, mindful thinking has resulted in balanced, effective decisions.

Mental clarity yields more satisfaction in life.

Ciao

The Blue Jay of Happiness quotes the cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. “Music is powered by ideas. If you don’t have clarity of ideas, you’re just communicating sheer sound.”