When you don't need more clarity to begin
Time to read: 3 minutes
Hi Reader
Maybe you recognise the feeling. Stuck in analysis paralysis, endlessly circling a decision, waiting until everything feels perfectly clear before taking action.
The Clarity Trap. That place where high-performers pause, plan, and perfect... but never quite move forward. Where we say we're seeking "clarity" but something deeper is at play.
And although cost is rarely visible immediately, you might reach the point where you realise weeks (or months) of momentum have silently slipped away.
What we're really seeking
I worked with a client who had been circling some potential paths forward for way too long.
Each time she got excited about a direction, she'd walk the mental path until she spotted a potential obstacle. "What if it doesn't work as I hope?" or "What if it doesn't meeet my income needs?" The doubts would surface, and she'd retreat back to the drawing board.
This cycle had repeated for ages – explore, find a perceived blocker, return to start. Each loop leaving her more frustrated, more doubtful of her own judgement, and no closer to moving forward.
"I just need more clarity before I can decide," she told me.
But when we dug deeper, what she actually wanted wasn't clarity – it was a guarantee that her choice would be risk-free.
She wanted a level of certainty that doesn't exist.
Clarity is created, not found
What if we've had clarity all wrong?
What if it's not the final step we seek before action, but the thing that's created through action?
This mindset shift is often what helps my clients bridge one of the common challenges in their Ambition Gap – that frustrating space between where they are and where they know they could be.
We don't need the "perfect plan". It doesn't exist anyway. We need to accept that we'll be refining the map as we go. Making adjustments based on real information rather than imagined obstacles.
So I suggested a different approach to my client: instead of mental rehearsals that always ended in back-tracking, what about a quick, focused sprint to explore one option deeply?
Not to commit permanently, but to gather concrete information about the questions that actually mattered.
We shifted her question from "Do I have enough clarity to decide?" to "What specific information do I actually need before taking a first step?"
It was a change that finally found some traction for those spinning wheels.
Working in drafts
The entrepreneurs and leaders who make the fastest progress don't wait for perfect clarity. They work in drafts.
Draft thinking means:
- You explore an idea just enough to learn something important.
- You treat your first attempt as a version to refine, not a permanent commitment
- You seek actual feedback instead of imagining future problems
My client started treating her pivot as a draft to be tested and refined, not a forever decision to be feared. She picked what already felt like the most interesting option and explored it.
Within weeks, she had actual clarity. Not from thinking harder, but from testing specific elements of her idea and discovering what she couldn't have known from reflection alone.
Small steps to build true clarity
So how do you actually start creating clarity instead of hoping it'll arrive?
Try these specific questions that help my clients break free from the Clarity Trap:
- What's one small thing I could try quickly that would give me real information about this option?
- What conversation could I have that would answer a specific question I'm stuck on?
- What's the smallest test that would help me understand if this direction has legs?
- Am I seeking an answer that I can only discover through taking action?
These questions shift you from endless mental rehearsal to real action and usable insight.
The clients who make the fastest progress aren't the ones with perfect plans, they're the ones who are prepared to test imperfect ideas while staying responsive to what they're learning.
Your steps to clarity
If you've been waiting for perfect clarity before moving forward, consider this your permission to work differently.
You don't need complete certainty to begin. You just need just enough reflection and information to take the next step. Because you'll learn more through doing than endless thinking.
Sometimes the only way to find out what's on the other side of a door is to try the handle and step through.
I'd love you to reflect on this today:
Where are you holding out for perfect clarity, when you already have enough alignment to begin?
Reply to this email with your thoughts. I reply to every response.
And if you're tired of circling and ready to move forward with intent, I can help. Book your free Impact call and let's figure out your next steps.
Stay ambitious.
Rob
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Sparked Ambition Ltd | linkedin.com/in/robstubbs