Have you ever felt unclear about where your life is headed? Or unsure about what all your time and energy is being poured into?

We make commitments — to jobs, universities, organizations, people. And likely when you made that commitment, you had a sense of why you were doing it. You felt strongly that it was a good idea and that there were good reasons to make that choice.

But then time passes; the newness wears off; the workload increases. Your vision gets crowded by all the to-do items that are due RIGHT NOW (or yesterday, even.)

The busyness and fullness can be satisfying. It can be reassuring to think, “I’ve got plenty of good things to fill my life.” But in my experience, the busyness can slip into a frenzy. When you’re in a place of frenzy, on top of the energy it takes to honor all your commitments, you’re also spending energy switching from task to task, deciding what’s most important in each moment, worrying about all the above-and-beyond tasks that are being left undone.

And this is why I’m on a quest for clarity.

What is clarity? When I think of the word, I think of the physical property of clarity–a translucent pool of water or an unblemished diamond. Or a bell-like tone that is pleasing to your ear. There’s continuity and flow. The brain can process what it’s seeing and hearing — it can trust its senses.

Clarity in our lives comes when we are true to our own self, knowing what makes our lives feel peaceful and whole, and then doing that. Clarity is acting on your conviction or imagination or love and not giving into the fear of what others will think of you. Clarity is about listening to your inner voice, instead of silencing it.

So often, when we have questions like “What should I do?” we know the answer. But we continue to ask it because we are lacking the courage to actually do the thing we know we should do. Or we want permission–we want a stamp of approval before we start. Or we know that the choice we should make will be difficult, or will disappoint someone or will be scrutinized and misunderstood.

Other voices can be important, it’s not that you have to decide everything by yourself. But the voice you should keep checking in with is your own. You know yourself better than any other person. You have the authority and responsibility to maintain clarity in your life.

I’m not one of those people who absolutely has to do their best. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I am well-practiced at letting myself off the hook, coming up with excuses for why I didn’t do as good of a job as I could have done, coming up with reasons that this ‘thing’ (be it a task, test, relationship, or endeavor) just isn’t that important to me.

It’s hard to do our best. But what makes it hard?

To do your best, or be your best, means that your current performance – what comes ‘naturally’ to you, is not satisfying you (because only you truly know when you’re doing your best.)

To move to the next level means getting out of your comfort zone.

To move to the next level means admitting that you want to be better. And this admission sets you up for disappointment if you don’t follow through for yourself.

To move to the next level means that people around you may see you differently. You may get extra scrutiny for the changes in your behavior. You may find that people expect more from you, since you’ve proven that you can come through for them in more tangible, effective ways. You may find that people are disappointed, because you’re no longer acting in the ways they’ve come to expect.

But don’t let the difficulty of doing your best deter you. Once you get started – once you admit that you care and you take the first step in doing what you know you need to do – you’ll feel better. And when you get a ‘win’ – celebrate it. Enjoy the sweet satisfaction of knowing that you put in the extra effort, you got out of your comfort zone, you defied what others (including your own self) think of you, and you DID SOMETHING GOOD.