“A man may imagine things that are false, but he can only understand things that are true,
for if the things be false, the apprehension of them is not understanding.”
Isaac Newton
Physicist, mathematician,
key figure in the scientific revolution
I often ask my clients, “What’s the number one result you could achieve that you perceive would make the biggest difference in your life / your business / your relationships?” The answer vary from person to person, but what the person comes up with is what they perceive as their “ultimate leverage point”. In this article, we’re going to experiment with your “ultimate leverage point”, the thing that you perceive would have the biggest “return on investment” for the resources it would take you to achieve it.
So take a moment to answer the question, using whatever context you like (work, relationships, health, your life as a whole)…
1. What’s the number one result you could achieve that you perceive would make the biggest difference in your [context: eg. Finances / work / health / your business / your relationships / your life as a whole]?”
Different people’s answers will vary, for instance…
– Get slim, fit and healthy
– Change my job
– Find Mr Right
– Stop worrying and be more confident
– Start my own business
– etc
Once you’ve identified what you currently perceive as your “ultimate leverage point”, it can be useful to explore why you want it, and why that’s important. For example…
| Current ULP | Why do you want it / Why is that important |
| A) Get slim, fit and healthy | Have more energy, live longer, enjoy better health |
| B) Change my job | Feel happier and more fulfilled |
| C) Find Mr Right | Feel secure and happy |
| D) Find my purpose | Feel a sense of purpose and direction |
| E) Start my own business | Feel happy, fulfilled and on purpose |
So ask yourself these questions.
2. Why do you want that? Why is that important?
If you look at the examples above, you’ll see that most of them are based on the idea that feelings (eg. happiness, fulfilment, security, purpose etc) can come from external circumstances. While example A (get slim, fit and healthy) has what appears to be a “healthy” motivation behind it (Have more energy, live longer, enjoy better health), examples B, C, D and E are all examples of what I call “toxic goals”; goals based on the outside-in misunderstanding. This toxic misunderstanding not only causes huge amounts of unhelpful contaminated thinking; it often makes it harder to achieve the goals you do want to achieve.
So what’s the solution? Greater clarity of understanding…
So what is clarity of understanding?
Here’s an excerpt from my forthcoming book (to be published by Wiley-Capstone, Autumn 2016):
Every person on the planet has their own understanding of how life works. In some areas of life, your embodied understanding is closely aligned with reality, and you get good results. In other areas of life, your embodied understanding is adrift from reality, and you struggle. The greater your awareness of the inside-out nature of the mind, the greater your clarity of understanding. And here’s the thing: we all have times when we feel connected; we all have times when we have clarity of thought. But your clarity of understanding is the ultimate leverage point for increasing the amount of time you spend clear-headed and feeling connected. When you do get caught up in contaminated thinking, your clarity of understanding determines how quickly your mind will self-correct.
Clarity of understanding is your ultimate leverage point
When Isaac Newton discovered the pre-existing fact of gravity (i.e. the principle of gravity), he was able to explain the movements of the planets (Newton famously realised that the moon was effectively falling towards the centre of the earth, due to the principle of gravity, and that explained its motion). Newton’s discoveries of fundamental laws of nature (principles) paved the way for the industrial revolution, and transformed our world. Clarity of understanding of the principles of how your mind works (aka. Grounding, level of consciousness, level of awareness) is your ultimate leverage point for living a fulfilling life, and creating the results that matter to you and for you.
This is why “clarity of understanding” is the foundation piece for all the work I do with clients. It’s what I support my Clarity Coaches in developing, but it’s also what I work with my business clients on. You see, as your grounding in the principles behind clarity increases, you become more able to create the results you want, and enjoy the process.
By the way… For the first time this year, I’m doing a 3-hour, small group “private audience” event in London this Friday, May 27th. The room is sold out, but we have a few live-streaming places available, so if you’d like to be considered for a place, pop over to https://www.jamiesmart.com/g4g2016/ to find out what’s involved.
To your increasing clarity
Big love
Jamie