We're down to our final two weeks of looking at the 8 Cs of Self-Leadership from the IFS-Institute and their founder, Dr. Richard Schwartz (Calm, Curiosity, Confidence, Compassion, Creativity, Courage, Clarity, and Connectedness). Hopefully, this series is creating some positive focus as we keep moving forward into 2025.
We've already touched on Calm, Curiosity, Confidence, Compassion, Creativity, and Courage, and this week we turn our attention to Clarity.
Clarity
With several of these elements, I have made reference to portions of the definitions from the IFS-Institute. This week, I want to share their full definition for Clarity because it has so much wisdom by itself.
Clarity
1. the ability to perceive situations accurately without distortion from extreme beliefs and emotions
2. the ability to maintain objectivity about a situation in which one has a vested interest
3. the ability to recognize one’s own bias or preconception and then seek a deeper understanding
Powerful, right?!
A few thoughts from my perspective:
First, I love that each layer is about an ability, because that means it is something we can work on and grow, which also fits so well with their whole idea of moving toward each of these elements of the 8 Cs. It's not about accomplishing some level of achievement, but continuing to grow and focus on our ability to have greater Clarity.
Second, part of the invitation here is to "stand at a distance" from ourselves - to take a step back and look at things with a clearer perception. So much of the time when we are in the middle of something, we can get so caught up in it we can't really notice what is actually happening. But if we can take a step back and see things a little more objectively, we will often gain some real Clarity about the situation, which can help us see new approaches and choices we may not have seen before.
Finally, there is also an element of truth telling here. One of my favorite questions to ask myself and that I often encourage clients to ask of themselves is, "What do I actually know is true here?" We can get ourselves tripped up when we pay more attention to the story we are telling ourselves about a situation or a relationship than we do the actual facts of what we really know about it. We jump to conclusions or allow our bias and prejudice to cloud the actual basic facts, so being honest is a way to increase our Clarity and helps us navigate those tough situations better.
What about you? What ideas do their definitions of Clarity raise for you? Is there a situation or relationship you are too close to right now, and taking a step back would help to increase your Clarity around it? Perhaps there is something you are jumping to a lot of conclusions about? What impact would it have if you just slowed down and asked, "What do I actually know about this situation? What are the raw facts?" Is there a friend or a colleague you could chat with who could help you see a particular circumstance or relationship from a different perspective, and how might that help with your Clarity?
Here's to gaining more Clarity this week!
Be Well,
Stephen
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