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 NLP
Article 7 - Wellformedness Conditions and Goal Setting
NLP makes use of wellformedness as a way of checking both the realism
and the appropriateness of a goal. Your weight goals should
certainly be subjected to wellformedness conditions!
The term “Wellformedness” was first used as a way
of checking that therapeutic outcomes were both realistic and
ultimately desirable. This is because sometimes what we think
we want, is not actually in our best interests, or even conflicts with
other goals.
We now use Wellformedness Conditions as a goal setting tool, because
the increased specificity and realism available through wellformedness
enhances our ability to achieve our goal.
We know that when we are assessing a goal for its "well-formedness" we
are attempting to achieve both realism and
“fit”. We are doing our best to ensure
that the goal is indeed not only achievable by us, but that the goal
truly is desirable by us.
We are unlikely to be able to achieve or maintain a goal which is out
of alignment with our own guiding principles or values.
The
application of well-formedness conditions involves the following:
State your goal in the positive (not the absence of a negative), and
ensure you are talking about a physical goal, not an internal state or
emotion.
Put the goal in context. How, where, when and why do I want
this? Do not say “in six months’
time”. Instead nominate the date “30
April 2003” Why is incredibly important.
If we do not have a sufficiently motivating “why”
we will not have the automatic “energy” to run the
goal.
Sensory specific. Can you describe the achievement of the
goal in all sensory representational systems (what will you see, hear,
smell, taste, feel, that will provide you with the undeniable evidence
that you have got your goal)? What sensory representational
systems of others would inform them that you had achieved this goal
(what would others see, hear, smell, taste, feel, that will provide
them with the undeniable evidence that you had achieved your goal)?
Goal must be self-fulfilled and self maintained - not rely on others
contributions, and not subject to events outside your control.
Honestly evaluate the effects of achieving the goal. What
will having the goal get for me? What will having the goal
lose for me? What will not having the goal get for
me? What will not having the goal lose for me?
Is the goal in alignment with other goals, with my values and guiding
principles?
These are the classic NLP Wellformedness Conditions. We like
to add one more:
Do I believe
I can achieve this goal easily?
As you ask yourself that question, take special care to be aware of
your physiological response. While you consciously may
believe in the ease of achieving the goal, your unconscious mind may be
coming up with all sorts of evidence for difficulty. If you
get a low or “flat” or other negative feeling in
response to this question, here is what to do. (You might
also get a tight, almost stressed kind of feeling. Is this
genuine excitement, or it is anxiety which could sabotage your
efforts? If the latter, you’ll also need to attend
to that!)
Making Goals
Easy
We can use the Collapse Anchors technique to ensure your unconscious
mind interprets the goal as one which will be achieved quite easily.
1 On one knee, install an anchor for
“achieving this goal”. Really get into
the feeling of having the goal and install that anchor 3 times, with a
clean break state in between each anchor. From a neutral
state, test that anchor to ensure that it results in the same
physiological response.
2 Now think of at least 3 memories of
achieving a goal with such ease that it seemed to almost happen by
itself. (If you haven’t got these exact memories,
don’t worry, just nominate memories something like that.)
Are those memories powerful for you? Do they
“feel” really great to you when you relive
them? If so, then we can use them as is. If not,
take some time now to “ramp them up” by making a
movie of how you would have liked things to go and tell your
unconscious mind to use that memory as if it really happened.
3 For each of those memories, install an
anchor on your other knee (all in the same location). Make
sure you are coming into the peak of the state of “achieving
this goal with amazing ease”. You now have a
“super-anchor” where 3 powerful examples of
achievement are stacked together.
4 Now think of your new goal, firing the
first anchor as you do so. Say to yourself “And put
that over the top of it” as you fire the second anchor (still
holding first anchor in place). As you feel that familiar
sense of confusion or “spaciness” say to yourself
“That’s right” and release first the
initial anchor, and a couple of seconds later release the second
anchor. Break state, and repeat this twice more.
You have just told your unconscious mind exactly what sort of ease you
want to experience in achieving your new goal!
About
the
Author: Christine
Sutherland is the
founder of The Lifeworks Group Pty Ltd.
She is a behavioural therapist, clinical
researcher, and
internationally-published author of a range of reference texts for
health
professionals, corporate managers, and the general public.
You
can contact Christine on christine@lifeworks-group.com.au.
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