One of the Tweets from Maverick Insights that’s received the most impressions had to do with one of my favorite war movies, Fury, starring Brad Pitt. I’m not sure exactly why it’s the most viewed. Maybe the Tweet reminded people of Brad’s sacrifice when he decided to stay with his damaged tank and fight off over 300 rapidly advancing Nazi storm troopers so that other Americans wouldn’t have to face them. His sacrifice inspired the rest of his crew to join him, in what they all silently acknowledged, was a suicide mission. It was grim and courageous to be sure.

Out of that situation I believe are parallels that can be drawn to the decisions you and I make in our personal and professional lives. While the consequences are rarely if ever that dire, we face moments when we must decide if we are to stand and fight or reposition and try again. The decision Brad made as the tank commander that afternoon had more to do with his values than how many Nazis he planned on taking out.

When we are deciding strategy for how to run a business or manage our careers, there’s an emotional component that automatically and spontaneously wells up inside all of us which aligns with our true north or our value system. But sometimes it gets lost amid the din of a thousand things to do, so many media and device demands on our attention and possibly outdated mental programming. The signal from our internal compass doesn’t come through as loud and clear as it did for Brad’s character at that fateful moment when he decided to commit. For us there isn’t quite the same moment of clarity, bright line to step over or point of no return that’s so easily recognized.

Clarity is not a commodity that we can’t walk into a convenience store and grab and go nor is it something we can purchase off of Amazon. It just isn’t easy to come by. But its value, I suggest, is well worth the effort. When we have clarity we can inspire ourselves not just in the short term, that we can do with force of will, but over the long term where anything of real worth is found. When we have clarity we don’t need to consciously inspire others they sense what we feel and want to be part of the action.

What does it take to obtain that kind of clarity? First it takes a commitment to taking time away from the day to day to do what I call wallowing. Initially this would be alone or possibly with someone you trust to be open to new ideas but familiar with solving the decision you’re facing. Wallowing means sifting through all of the related information available and letting that begin to seep into your mind. After three or four days of letting that roll around in your mind, take another time out and begin to follow where your mind wants to go. It may take a few sessions over maybe weeks or longer before clarity emerges and be sure to check your thinking with others you trust.

But when clarity does emerge, the wallowing, focused inquiry and feedback have instilled in you a strong vision and even stronger belief in the direction you now know you need to follow. Then you may find that you have no trouble with that decision that not so long ago was proving difficult to make. While your decision won’t be of the same magnitude with regards to consequences as the tank crew’s decision in Fury had you will now be able to make your decision with the same intensity and lasting power that they had. And that kind of commitment is what we’re all striving to make during our lives, the ones that make a real difference and the ones that mean the most to us.