{"id":12574,"date":"2026-03-12T21:19:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T01:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/the-strategy-of-clarity-how-to-make-sure-your-habits-match-your-goals\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T21:19:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T01:19:52","slug":"the-strategy-of-clarity-how-to-make-sure-your-habits-match-your-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/the-strategy-of-clarity-how-to-make-sure-your-habits-match-your-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strategy of Clarity: How to Make Sure Your Habits Match Your Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

An earlier version of this article appeared on October 15, 2015<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

Of all the strategies for habit formation I’ve explored, the Strategy of Clarity took me the longest to fully appreciate. It seems almost too simple. But once I understood how much work it was actually doing, I couldn’t stop seeing it everywhere.<\/p>\n

Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life<\/strong><\/a>, and a significant element of happiness. If we have habits that work for us, we\u2019re much more likely to be happy, healthy, productive, and creative.<\/p>\n

My book, Better Than Before<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (can’t resist adding, bestseller) describes the multiple strategies we can exploit to change our habits.<\/p>\n

I spend a lot of time thinking about questions such as, \u201cHow do we change?\u201d \u201cWhy is it so hard to make ourselves do things that we want<\/em> to do?\u201d ( for instance, why is it so hard to make myself go to bed?) and \u201cHow can we stick to our resolutions?\u201c<\/p>\n

I realize now that a big challenge is clarity<\/strong>. Often, if there\u2019s something that I want to do, but somehow can\u2019t get myself to do, it\u2019s because I don\u2019t have clarity.<\/strong> This lack of clarity often arises from a feeling of ambivalence\u2013I want to do something, but I don\u2019t want to do it; or I want one thing, but I also want something else that conflicts with it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Lack of clarity, and the paralysis that ensues, seems to be common. Here\u2019s a list of aims in conflict that I\u2019ve heard. Do any ring a bell for you?<\/p>\n