NLP Logical Levels

NLP logical levels is a technique that helps you align yourself so that every part of you is pulling in the same direction to achieve a goal. Going through logical levels helps set you up for success.

Whenever you are stuck somewhere, it can help you quickly identify what is causing the problem and how to move on from it. Have you ever felt that you are not making any progress despite putting in a lot of effort? You tried everything but just can’t identify what the problem is, and where is it coming from.

This is where NLP logical levels can be useful. Logical levels allows you to quickly find the root cause of the problem by breaking down our life and sum of experiences into 6 different levels. Analyzing by each level simplifies the process. Logical levels allow us to effectively frame the problem by providing us a structure to work with.

NLP logical levels are hierarchical and in sequence.

Environment (where) : Refers to the environment around you such as the community, your living arrangements, the people around you, the tools/resources available to you etc.

Behaviors (what) : These are your habits and common behaviors and current lifestyle. Eg. early riser, heavy drinker, procrastinator etc.

Capabilities (how) : These are your abilities, skills, knowledge and competency. If your capabilities are not up to scratch, obviously there will be a problem.

Beliefs & values (why) : Beliefs & values are the guiding force of your actions and decisions. It is what you strongly believe in. An example will be ‘Health is more important than money’

Identity (who) : Further up from beliefs is your identity. This is your definition of who you are and what you stand for. When you do something against your identity, you will feel like you have betrayed yourself.

Spirituality : At the highest level above our identity is our spirit and connectedness to the universe. Our role and duty as a spiritual being.

Whenever you are stuck and not making any progress, walk though the logical levels one by one. Starting from the ‘environment’ all the way to ‘spirituality’. As you move through each level, analyze what you are doing in each level and how is it supporting or hindering you towards your goal.

Ask questions such as ;

What are my environment/behaviors/capabilities etc like? What does it consist of?

Are these supporting my goal of _____ ?

Are there any part of this level which hinders me from achieving the goal?

What do I need to change so that it supports my objective?

What more can add to each level to make it support my goal even more?

Here is an example for a clearer illustration of NLP logical levels. Let’s take the example of working on health and fitness. Walk through each level and ask what about it is supporting and not supporting you. This is how you approach each level.

Environment

Supportive : Proper gym clothes, running shoes, exercise gear. Gym membership to a good gym nearby. Friends who also go to the gym.

Not supportive : Junk food around the house. Do not regularly eat healthy meals. Unable to find the time to exercise.

Response : Now you know you need to overhaul your meal habits, and do some proper time scheduling for exercising.

Repeat that process for each of the logical levels. You will identify things in your life is/may hinder you from achieving your goal. Once you have identified it you can find solutions to prevent or deal with those issues.

Some things are easy to handle and change, such as our environment, behaviors and capabilities. However when it comes to our beliefs, identity and spirituality, it is another matter. At the point where your beliefs, identity and spirituality are not supporting your goal, you need to make a decision regarding it. To decide to change your goals or to change your beliefs/identity/spirituality.

If you are happy with who you are & what your beliefs are right now then decide to change your goal. Because ultimately, do you really want to do something that doesn’t reflect who you are, your deepest beliefs and your spirituality?

Final thoughts…

NLP logical levels can be a very useful tool. Whatever you are working on, it is a good idea to make sure every part of you is aligned together. You can plan everything in advance and prevent anything that may hinder your progress.

So set out and try out this useful technique as soon as possible.

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