NLP is an excellent tool for goalsetting, and to take us right back to the beginning, let’s look at the three legs of NLP – Outcome Orientation, Sensory Acuity and Flexibility
The three legs of NLP are essential for effective goalsetting:
- Outcome Orientation – What do I want?
This means working with a specific objective in mind. Often we know we want to move away from the current state or position but our ideas of where we are heading are ill-formed. This does not serve us well as our mind needs a specific target. A non-well-formed outcome (ill-formed?) could be: “I want to lose weight and stop looking fat”
A well-formed outcome could be: “I want to get fitter and slimmer, so that in 6 months time, I can fit into that swimsuit from last year, and feel great about it”
- Sensory Acuity – How am I feeling?
This is an ability to observe often subtle changes in body language which let us know when people have altered their state of awareness and is accessing unconscious resources. This may mean they are thinking new thoughts, an image has popped into their mind, or they are experiencing physical sensations in reaction.
- Flexibility – If what I’m doing isn’t getting me my outcome what can I do differently?
Have you heard the quote….. “If you always do what you have always done, you always get what you always got”?
