Is The Need For Clarity Holding You Back?

Life is unpredictable, otherwise it will be plain and boring. It would be ideal if we are always completely clear on what is going on and what the outcome will be if we take a certain action. This would be too easy; many diseases would have been prevented. Many accidents would not have happened. Many more people would probably get the financial compensation they desire.

In real life, many things are not one hundred percent guaranteed. Are you using that as your excuse for not taking the next step?

When you are about to drive through a foggy road that you are not familiar with, what would you do? Would you stop to wait for the fog to clear up? What if the fog is here to stay? If you wait for the fog to disappear, you will never get to your destination. As you planned to go somewhere, you drive toward that direction. Fog decreases your visibility and it is not a wall. The only way to move forward is to go through the fog. You go slower than when you have a clear view so that you do not hit anything by accident. Even though you are going slower, you are moving closer to where you want to go.

When an oncology patient comes to the office to discuss their cancer diagnosis and treatment plan, there is always the uncertainty of the effectiveness of the proposed therapy. There are times that, instead of getting some kind of treatment started, the patient seeks second, third or even a fourth opinion of the treatment plan, thinking that the answer will be more certain at some point. In reality, no one oncologist can guarantee a patient completely. As an oncologist, I can only go by the standard practice and take into account of the comorbidities of the patient to offer what I believe is the best recommendation for that patient. I always tell patients that I cannot guarantee if the treatment will work or not. The only thing I can guarantee is that, if the cancer is not treated, it will continue to grow and consume the patient. We do not know if the planned treatment is going to work or not until we try it. If it does not work, we will use another approach.

Many people are stuck with not having the guarantee of a certain outcome. When they are not clear on what will happen, that causes paralysis and they are afraid to take the next step. Or they think that by waiting, clarity of the situation will eventually come. Many things in life do not work that way. What are you afraid of when there is no complete clarity? The risk of failure, the risk of making the wrong decision, or the risk of doing something that is getting you further from your goal?

Sometimes we have to take the next step forward without complete clarity, and the next step will give us more clarity. When you are hesitant to take the next step because there is some uncertainty, ask yourself what is stopping you. It is usually some kind of fear. The fear of the unknown, the fear of making the wrong decision, the fear of an undesired outcome, or some other kind of fear.

When there is more than one option with similar risks and benefits, make a decision based on your best judgment. Once you make that decision, make it the best decision you have made and go with it. If the result is not what you anticipated, learn from the experience. Maybe this is the step that is giving you more clues as of what the following step should be.

Accept that many things in life are not one hundred percent guaranteed, and that is okay. We can move forward without that complete security. Oftentimes we gain more clarity when we take the next step.