“You’re always living in the feeling of your thinking.”
– Keith Blevens
Clinical psychologist
I'm on holiday until Monday Jan 20th, so in the meantime I thought I'd answer a question that a lot of people ask when they're introduced to my work: So what’s the point of learning about principles?
The answer comes from my #1 bestselling book CLARITY: Clear Mind, Better Performance, Bigger Results (© 2013 Jamie Smart, published by Wiley)
So what’s the point of learning about principles?
Principles are a source of massive leverage. When you understand the principles behind something, it increases your power exponentially. For example…
The principles of flight
People struggled for centuries to create flying machines. While people saw birds and insects flying, they didn’t understand the principles that made flight possible. Then, the Wright brothers discovered the principles of aeronautics. In December 1903 they achieved the first manned, machine-powered flight. In the century since, the world of aeronautics has achieved extraordinary feats (the helicopter, the jump-jet, the space-shuttle and Concorde to name but a few). Discovering the principles of aeronautics gave people massive leverage to create things that couldn’t even be dreamt of previously.
Reality Check
You may be saying, “Hang on a second! Gravity is a principle, but you can measure gravity. How can you measure THOUGHT, CONSCIOUSNESS and MIND?”
We can’t actually see or measure gravity per se, because it’s formless; but we can measure its effects. We know that if you drop a pencil, gravity will cause it to fall to the floor. By observing falling objects, we can draw conclusions about gravity, as Galileo and Newton did.
Similarly, you can’t see or measure the principles behind CLARITY; they’re formless too. But you can observe and measure their effects. In fact, as you continue deepening your understanding of CLARITY, you’re going to start seeing the effects on a daily basis. Just as there are no exceptions to the principle of gravity, there are no exceptions to the principles of CLARITY; they’re a constant.
Our mental functioning influences every aspect of our lives on a daily basis. Understanding the principles behind the experience of life gives you massive leverage. The implications of these principles are profound for individuals, organizations and entire societies.
DISTINCTION: Applications vs. Implications
Single-paradigm pioneers, Valda Monroe and Keith Blevens, PhD, draw a powerful distinction between applications and implications.
When we don’t understand the principles behind how something works, we tend to look for applications. Procedures, “how-tos” and step-by-step processes are an attempt to make progress when we don’t intuitively know how something works. The vast majority of personal development, business and leadership books are focused on applications in the absence of a principled understanding. As a result, people often have trouble implementing what they’ve learned from those programmes, and add the applications to the list of things they know they “should” be doing.
The principles behind how something works have implications. When you intuitively understand these principles, the implications inform and guide your thoughts and behaviours in the moment, resolving issues that were previously insoluble and revealing opportunities that were previously invisible.
An example is physical health. Until the middle of the 19th century, there was little or no awareness of germs. The germ theory of disease was developed in the late 1800s before being proved by Robert Koch (a feat which earned him the Nobel Prize in 1905). The world of medicine started changing radically (surgeons started washing their hands, sterilizing their instruments and wearing masks over their nose and mouth while performing surgery). Beyond that, the principles of germ theory had widespread implications for everyone who learned about it.
Even a rudimentary awareness of principles has implications for your behaviour. While you may only have a basic understanding of germ theory, it’s likely that you’ve learned to wash your hands regularly, cover your mouth when you cough and are careful when handling anything you think is a significant source of germs and bacteria.
The CLARITY model is a business-friendly coding of the principles behind our experience, and the implications of those principles. As you continue getting a deeper understanding of CLARITY, you’ll start experiencing a gentle yet powerful transformation, with more clarity, resilience and well-being. And why does insightful understanding of these principles make such an impact in people’s lives?
Clarity of understanding leads to clarity of mind…
The outside-in misunderstanding – the false assumption that we’re feeling something other than our thinking in the moment – is the only thing that ever keeps us from clarity. Clear up the misunderstanding, and the mind clears.
The factory settings
Clarity, resilience and peace of mind are the default setting for people; our true nature. They are our natural state when our minds are clear and free from superstitious thinking. As you continue deepening your understanding of CLARITY, you’ll start experiencing the “default settings” more of the time. These default settings are the “deep drivers” behind individual and business success.
If you want to learn more about how you can see through the outside-in misunderstanding, and start waking up to the principles behind clarity, you can explore the materials here at www.JamieSmart.com or read my book, the #1 bestseller CLARITY: Clear Mind, Better Performance, Bigger Results.
To your increasing clarity,
Best,
Jamie