Clarity of Thinking

One of the most important and underrated skills to develop if you want to be successful is the ability to articulate the “why” behind your decisions.

I call this skill “Clarity of thinking”.

Ask yourself: If a complex question is presented to you multiple times on different days, would you deliver the same answer and be able to explain the “why” behind it?

Clarity of thinking has to be present if you want to sharpen your decision-making skills over time. Outcomes can be evaluated through the lens of what you thought were facts and what you thought would happen when a decision was originally made.

Clarity of thinking also allows you to publicly admit when you’ve made a bad decision. You can explain the “why” behind your original decision and the “what” that caused the decision to be a bad one. It allows you to change your mind when new facts emerge.

Unfortunately, most people develop the opposite skill: Revisionist History. They’ve learned how to justify outcomes by rewriting the logic behind their decisions.

VCs, Founders, Teachers, Doctors, Politicians, Historians, Engineers, Project Managers…this matters in every profession. Every last one. And what makes life frustrating is that most people are better Revisionist Historians than Clear Thinkers.