Introduction

“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients.”

Herbert Simon, Economist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, 1978

“If a pond is clouded with mud, there's nothing you can do to make the water clear. But when you allow the mud to settle, it will clear on its own, because clarity is the water's natural state…”

Clarity is your mind's natural state.

For many years, I've been sharing this simple metaphor in workshops and seminars with business leaders, military personnel, entrepreneurs, coaches, therapists and private individuals. As people allow their mud to settle, clarity emerges, and they discover they have what they need for the job at hand.

So what is clarity, and why does it matter? How does clarity work, and why do so many people struggle to find it? Most important, how can you find the clarity you need and start benefiting from it?

It's well known that outstanding leaders in every field, from Olympic gold medal winners to visionary entrepreneurs, profit from the flow states that a clear mind brings. With clarity of thought comes the qualities that drive sustainable results. These qualities and results are what individuals and organisations are searching for. But, due to a simple misunderstanding, we've been looking in the wrong place until now.

The purpose of this book is to clear up that misunderstanding and help you experience greater and greater clarity, with all the benefits it provides. The book asks and answers the following questions:

1. What is clarity? It turns out that clarity is a kind of “universal resource.” When we have a clear mind, we have everything we need for the job at hand. Ask a nervous speaker what's going through their head when they're onstage, and they'll explain their fears, worries and anxieties. Ask a confident speaker what they're thinking about onstage and the answer's fairly consistent: “Nothing!” This is the case in every field of high performance, from the classroom to the playing field, from the boardroom to the bedroom; when you've got nothing on your mind, you're free to give your best.
2. Why is clarity essential? You're going to discover why clarity is so important for living a life that's successful on the inside as well as on the outside. It turns out that many of the most desirable qualities people struggle to “develop” (such as resilience, creativity, motivation, intuition, confidence and even leadership) are actually expressions of an innate capacity; they're emergent properties of an uncluttered mind. These qualities drive the results people desire. Clarity is the source of authentic leadership and high performance. It allows us to be present in the moment and have an enjoyable experience of life. A sense of purpose, direction and entrepreneurial spirit are natural for people with a clear head. So are happiness, freedom, security, love, confidence and peace of mind.
3. How does clarity work, and how can you get it to work for you? You're going to be introduced to subtractive psychology, simple but powerful principles that will start clearing your mind automatically and awakening your innate qualities. These are the principles behind the natural capacity for experience – thinking, feeling and perceiving – every person is born with. This innate capacity generates 100% of our experience of life, moment to moment.

   Clarity is a naturally emergent property of this capacity – it isn't something you do; it's something you already have. The mind has its own “self‐clearing” function, capable of guiding you back to clarity, regardless of what state (or circumstances) you're in. Although this is extremely evident in small children, all but a fortunate few have it conditioned out of their awareness by the time they reach adulthood.

   As you start to deepen your understanding of the principles behind clarity, you're going to reconnect with your mind's natural self‐clearing function. As a result, you'll find that you start having (a) an effortlessly clear mind, (b) more time for what's important, (c) improved decision‐making, (d) better performance where it counts, and (e) more of the results that matter to you. Some of the “side effects” you may notice include better relationships, reducing stress levels, more passion and an increasing engagement with life.

4. Why do we need clarity now, more than ever? We're living at a pivotal time in history; millions of people are faced with uncertainty, complexity and overwhelm. As individuals, as organisations and as an entire species, clarity is the key to solving the big issues that face us if we want to create a sustainable future for ourselves and the generations that follow us.

   All of which presents us with a serious challenge: As our world becomes increasingly uncertain, complex and chaotic, we seem to have less and less time, attention and wisdom to navigate it with.

At a point in history when we most need clarity, it appears to be in shorter and shorter supply. . .

And so we try to compensate, as individuals and as organisations. From time management to mindfulness, from speed‐reading to positive thinking, we try to get back in control. And at first, it looks like it's helping; we feel like we're back in the driving seat. But then we lose motivation, or forget to use the technique; our attention gets drawn elsewhere or we fail to apply what we've learned.

It's not working. And it's not your fault.

You see, without even realising it, we've been using an industrial‐age misunderstanding of how the mind works to try to deal with the challenges of a digital‐age world. This misunderstanding gives rise to the contaminated thinking (e.g. worry, anxiety, overthinking, etc.) that obscures our innate capacity for peace, presence, high performance, creativity, confidence, security and love. As you start to see through the misunderstanding, clarity will emerge more and more frequently and reliably. To put it succinctly: Clarity equals capacity minus contamination.

As you continue reading this book, you're going to start dissolving the conditioning that's been keeping you from clarity until now and notice yourself experiencing a clear mind more and more frequently (with all the benefits it brings). At the times when your mind is clouded, you'll know what to do (and more important, what not to do). The conditioning is based in three main areas:

1. Contaminated thinking arising from the outside‐in misunderstanding. A widespread piece of conditioning mistakenly attributes clarity (and the lack of it) to a variety of circumstances. While this can easily be shown not to be the case, the misunderstanding is extremely persistent when it goes unchallenged. As your understanding of the principles behind clarity starts deepening, you'll notice stale habits of contaminated thinking dropping away and clarity emerging to take their place.
2. The move from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy. Just as factory workers need to keep their machines clean and well‐oiled, knowledge workers, creatives, coaches, entrepreneurs managers and leaders need to take similar care of their minds. Individuals and businesses are paying the price as time scarcity, attention poverty and information saturation clog the “mental machinery” we rely on. But there's good news. People are born with a powerful immune system that protects us from disease and illness. The immune system reflects an innate tendency towards health and wellness that also shows up in the body's ability to repair wounds, breaks and other injuries. It is a little‐known fact, however, that people also have a psychological immune system, able to quickly restore even an extremely perturbed mind to clarity and well‐being.

   As your understanding of the principles behind clarity continues to deepen, you'll find that you have what you need to prosper in times of uncertainty, complexity and change.

3. Attempting to find clarity using outside‐in methods. The mind is a self‐correcting system. The primary condition needed for a self‐correcting system to find its way back to balance is simple: an absence of external interference. Outside‐in methods such as positive thinking, affirmations and other techniques can often be examples of external interference. Other examples include smoking, drinking too much and internet addiction. While they can be used to find relief in the short term, they are not a sustainable solution. In the long run, they often make matters worse if they give the busy‐minded person even more to think about and do (I'm assuming that the last thing you need is more on your mind).

Subtractive psychology: less is more

As you read this book, there's nothing you need to do, think about or implement…

• You won't need new regimes, systems or processes to remember.
• You won't be given lists of techniques, tactics or interventions to put into practice.
• You won't have to reframe, monitor or manage your thinking.

This book is designed to effortlessly activate your innate capacity...