Jeremy Stevenson on The 12 Levers for a Better Life (#071)

Let's know what you liked and learnt! What if more than a century of self-help advice could be distilled into just 12 practical approaches? In this episode of ContraMinds, Swami speaks with clinical psychologist and author Jeremy Stevenson about The 12 Levers, the evidence-based toolkit he co-authored with Dr Spencer Greenberg.  After analysing more than 100 self-help books, 23 therapeutic approaches and hundreds of research papers, they discovered that the most useful techniques consistently fall within 12 broad levers. Jeremy shares his journey from international finance to clinical psychology and explains how his own struggles with approval-seeking shaped his interest in self-compassion and social anxiety. The conversation explores why values should come before goals, how to translate those values into everyday action, and why productivity is about more than time and efficiency. Jeremy also discusses the Productivity Equation, VAST goals, habits, choice points, feedback loops, and the connection between the mind and body. A practical conversation for professionals who want to work with greater clarity, make better choices and focus their effort on what genuinely matters.  5 Key Takeaways 1. Define your values before setting goals. Goals shaped by other people’s expectations rarely remain motivating or fulfilling. 2. Productivity is time × efficiency × importance. Working faster matters, but choosing work that genuinely matters can create the greatest improvement. 3. Approval-seeking turns interaction into performance. Letting go of constant external validation allows professionals to communicate more authentically and confidently. 4. Values become meaningful only through action. Goals, habits, everyday choice points and regular reviews turn guiding principles into observable behaviour. 5. Treat personal development as an experiment. Understand the problem, choose an evidence-based technique, test it and adjust based on the results. About Jeremy Jeremy Stevenson is a clinical psychologist, researcher at Sparkwave and co-author of The 12 Levers, written with mathematician and entrepreneur Dr Spencer Greenberg. Before moving into psychology, Jeremy studied international finance. His work explores practical, evidence-based techniques for understanding behaviour, clarifying personal values, improving productivity and creating meaningful change. In The 12 Levers, he and Spencer distil insights from more than 100 self-help books, multiple therapeutic approaches and hundreds of research papers into one accessible psychological toolkit. Timestamps 00:00 Cold Opening 05:41 I Wanted to Help Other People Do This 07:48 Self-Compassion Can Ease Social Anxiety 13:56 100 Self-Help Books, Distilled Into 12 Levers 17:30 Approval-Seeking Turns Connection Into Performance 21:43 Productivity Means Creating More of What You Value 26:31 You Cannot Always Choose What Matters 29:23 Your Values Give You Direction 34:08 Step Off the Treadmill and Reset 41:06 Let Values Come Before Goals 48:51 Every Choice Moves You Toward Your Values 50:37 Review What You Can Actually Control 57:03 Your Mind and Body Are Connected 1:02:24 First Understand, Then Intervene #The12Levers, #JeremyStevenson, #Productivity, #Psychology, #PersonalDevelopment, #ProfessionalGrowth, #EvidenceBased, #GoalSetting, #IntrinsicValues, #ContraMindsPodcast This episode was made possible by the great folks at https://goaffortless.ai. ⁠Effortless⁠ has been designed to be user-friendly, aiding you in your journey to streamline financial tasks. Experience the convenience of achieving e-Invoicing and E-way Bill Generation in just a couple of clicks, simplifying your business processes. 🔗 Links & Resources: ContraMinds: https://www.contraminds.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://blog.contraminds.com 🎧 Listen on Podcast Platforms: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xceASphmwAjJONTlsvo2Y Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contraminds-decoding-people-minds-strategy-and-culture/id1485202972 Follow ContraMinds: Twitter: https://twitter.com/contraminds Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contraminds/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/contraminds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/contraminds