November Reflections - Clarity

A month seeking clarity

I’m writing this month’s letter on a train to London, same oat milk cappuccino, but a completely different scene. I’m on my way to the capital city for a national meeting followed by an international netball match later (if you ever need a hit of pure energy, netball NEVER disappoints).

But between the noise, the movement, the excitement, one word has been sitting quietly with me: Clarity. And how we actually find it.

From Transitions to Inner Game to Clarity

In September, I wrote about transitions, how life shifts on the outside long before we catch up on the inside.

In October, I explored the inner game, the mind talk, the self-awareness, the messy courage of noticing our narratives and choosing kinder ones.

This month feels like the natural next step. Because once you’ve weathered a transition, once you’ve started tuning into your inner world… what you often crave next is direction. Not motivation. Not force. Not pressure. Direction. A sense of where next.

James Clear once said: “Most people think they lack motivation when really they lack clarity.” That line stopped me. Because I felt it. And I wondered, as you’re reading this, where are you on the clarity spectrum right now?

• A Year of Pause, Purpose, and Re-entry 

Spending a year out of “normal life” to prioritise my health forced me into a deep conversation with purpose, what it really means, and how it changes.

During that time, the Ikigai framework helped me reconnect with:

• What I’m good at

• What I love

• What the world needs

• What I can be paid for

It felt grounding. Almost like a compass. But returning to work has been a whole new terrain, re-inducting into systems, people, relationships, roles, responsibilities. A transition within a transition.

What surprised me most?

Not just that the environment had changed… but that I had too. Understanding that has given me permission to seek clarity from a new place, not from who I used to be, but from who I am now.

• Building Bravery by Being Brave

 In my Level 7 coaching training, we talked about how so many coaching conversations are actually about fear. Fear of change, fear of failure, fear of not being enough, fear of making the wrong call.

I’ve recognised this in myself too, especially navigating the fear that comes from health uncertainty. I had to learn how to move from the fear of dying… toward the love of living.

And somewhere in that shift, I realised: Bravery doesn’t come before action. It comes from action. A gift I’m grateful for is that even when I’m unsure, I can usually find that one brave step or at least fake the confidence until it catches up. That’s where so much of my purpose comes from.

Tools and tactics to give Clarity

Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis released a brilliant podcast episode (#371) on How to Find Clarity. They share practical tools and tactics to navigate uncertainty and reduce confusion and their ideas landed right in the heart of everything I’ve been thinking about this month. From that, and from my own lived experience, here are…

Three takeaways

1.      Dedicate time to explore your purpose. Clarity doesn’t appear in the rush, it arrives in the pause. Make space to sit with yourself.

2.      Check for matching (or mismatching) across your life. Clarity grows when your world aligns. Your values, your work, your relationships, your energy, do they support each other or compete?

3.      Be brave. Clarity loves courage. Decisions, conversations, boundaries, dreams, they all need a moment of brave to unlock them.

New Ways November

This month's theme 'New Ways November' gives a great excuse to give something new a go!

Ask:

• What matters to me today, not five years ago?

• What energises me?

• What drains me?

 • What do I want to contribute?

Purpose isn’t a lightning bolt. It’s a conversation.

Sometimes clarity isn’t discovering a new direction. It’s admitting a misalignment you’ve been avoiding. Matching brings ease. Mismatching brings noise. Notice which you’re living in.

I once told a colleague who was about to do something big: “Let fear be the throttle, not the brake.” Because fear can steer you toward something meaningful… or stop you in your tracks. Clarity grows every time you choose courage.

A colourful water bottle stands beside a coffee cup.

Thank you for being here, reading, reflecting, and walking through this journey with me. I can’t wait to write to you again next month.