Chasing Clarity

Growing up I used to hate long drives. Long drives meant playing 20 questions with my parents -

• "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

• "What colleges are there?"

• "What is the admission process?"

• "How many seats do they have?"

As a 13 year old, I didn't have an answer to these questions and that made me uncomfortable. Retrospectively, there is so much that these conversations taught me. But the biggest lesson was seeking clarity. It's something that has stuck with me even today.

Clarity comes with two things - elimination and depth. Elimination because having clarity means saying no to something and then digging deeper into it. It's easy to forget that trade-offs are key to building clarity. Saying no to something is the first step to say yes to something else.

With the amount of information and choices we have, decision making paralysis is at its highest. What to order for dinner today? How do I say no to these potential customers?

Clarity should not be confused with stubbornness. Clarity is not at odds with change though. Depending on where you are and what you know, the amount of clarity you have will change.

At any given point, I picture myself in the backseat of our car and think of questions that might come my way.

Find what you love, and chase clarity.