How does one achieve pure clarity of thought?

How does one achieve pure clarity of thought? –@rballe33

You can’t achieve pure clarity of thought. Achieving something makes me think of a race. We’re all running around this track, one two three seven(!) times until finally at the end we break through the ribbon, we’re panting like pigs, we’re sweating, it hurts in our stomach, in our head, and there’s a smiling little judge with a trophy. Emblazoned on the trophy is: Clarity of Thought.

We already have clarity of thought at the beginning of the race. But by the end, we’re so tired that we lose all the things that prevented us from realizing it in the beginning.

So intstead of thinking about achieving, think about erasing. How do we erase the clutter, the sticky brown residue that’s built up over the years in the crevices and myriad little etchings in our mind that prevented us from just reveling in our original clarity of thought.

Every day pick one thing to erase. I have a grudge against my mother. I will erase that today. How can I erase it if it’s built up over memories and years. Just everytime I think of the grudge I will think to myself “this is not useful. It will prevent me from being happy.” I want to be happy. There’s no deep analysis needed. I’m not burying the grudge. I’m just simply not wasting time thinking about it.

I regret losing a lot of money 10 years ago. This is also not a useful thought. It’s the past. It’s done. Not useful. Today I will do what I can to move forward, during the spare moments when I’m not driving my kids around on their various activities. They have a much tighter daily schedule than I do.

I want to write five novels and be a best selling author. I want all my investments to work out. I want ,maybe to do another startup or two and make a lot more money. Ok, that’s fine. But anxiety about it won’t get me there. I can maybe take one step forward on one goal today. That’s what I will do. I don’t need to do the rest. I won’t die today if I don’t do the rest. So I’ll erase goals that are unobtainable today.

Just keep erasing everything that is not useful. What happens when you are done erasing.

You have a blank piece of paper. Enjoy doodling on it.