Clarity Is a Practice, Not a Resolution
- Srividya Venkatasubramanya
- Jan 6
- 2 min read
Every new year invites resolutions—but clarity does not arrive simply because the calendar changes. For me, clarity began much earlier in life, in a way I did not fully appreciate as a child.
Growing up, I was not given many choices. What to wear, what to eat, how to structure my day—many decisions were already made for me. At the time, this felt restrictive. Over the years, however, I came to understand a deeper lesson hidden in that experience: choice, as we often imagine it, is largely an illusion.
Today, we are surrounded by endless options—dozens of shoe styles, countless toothpaste brands, infinite life paths presented to us through screens. Research in behavioral psychology supports what many of us intuitively feel: too many choices increase stress, anxiety, and decision paralysis. Psychologist Barry Schwartz described this as the Paradox of Choice—where more options lead not to freedom, but to dissatisfaction.
What my childhood taught me—long before I could name it—was decisiveness. With fewer choices, energy shifted from debating options to committing fully to action. This aligns closely with the Bhagavad Gita’s wisdom:
“You have the right to action, but never to the fruits of action.” (2.47)
Clarity comes not from controlling outcomes, but from engaging wholeheartedly with the next right step. Modern neuroscience confirms this: decision fatigue is real, and unnecessary choices drain the mind’s capacity for calm, focus, and emotional regulation.
Clarity, then, is not about having endless options. It is about learning to be purposeful with fewer choices. When we reduce mental noise, direction becomes clearer. Clarity is not perfection—it is alignment.
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