The Logical Levels of The Mind help explain why some changes in our lives are so much easier to achieve than others, and why once they are achieved, some last longer than others.
Simply, it all has to do with the logical level on which you are trying to make the change.
This pyramid explains the logical levels upon which you are trying to make a change in your life.
At the bottom of the pyramid, we have ‘Environment’ and this is basically the external conditions in which behaviour takes place, and in which we operate. If you wanted to start a new fitness routine, for example, and you purchased a new gym membership, or placed a treadmill in your house, you may have changed your environment a little, but it doesn’t actually change anything about you.
If you go one step further and set a fitness goal, perhaps that you will go to the gym 3 times a week, you will work up to the next stage of the pyramid, where your behaviour is the actions or reactions you take within your environment.
Both Environment and Behaviours are very conscious-level changes, however we now know that true change does not happen there. It happens at the subconscious level.
The higher you climb up the pyramid, the closer you get to that powerful subconscious level. And not only that; every level also has a powerful trickle down effect on the levels below!
Potential or competence can drive behaviour through a personal strategy, involving skills and your development. At this level you are thinking about and talking about ‘how’ to achieve something and what study, training or skills you may need to develop to achieve your goal.
This may even refer to your attitude towards your ability to do something, when you feel capable and have the knowledge, it will then trickle down and impact your behaviours and environment.
Beliefs aren’t something that everyone feels to be true, they are throughts and things that you or someone else individually believe to be true. For example, I may believe that it is hard for me to work out, and if I have that belief, it will affect my potential, behviours and environment in a way thay does not support me to reach a fitness goal.
If I shifted that belief to: ‘working out is really fun and easy for me’, that will most definitely postitively affect my potential, behaviours and environment to support my goal!
Identity is the most important level we can work on to create true change. Nobody would ever have to tell a professional athlete, like Serena Williams, that they have to workout because at that Identity level, that is who they are. An athlete will wake up every morning and is completely motivated and loves to workout naturally. When we aim to have a shift at the Identity level, it no longer becomes something we do or something we believe, it is just who we are now.
At the top of the pyramid, we have Purpose/Mission and purpose is above all, so of course, when you know or realize your purpose, this will also trickle down through all the lower levels. And every level has this trickle down effect, so if we work on shifting our identity it will trickle down and shift your values, beliefs, potential, behaviors and environment!
Those on a journey of self-discovery or self-improvement, will know that whatever you put after “I AM” can either make or break your whole world. If you believe that you are successful in the area of focus in your life, that is how you are going to show up. However, if you feel like you are shy and quiet instead, or not experienced or good enough, then this is how you are going to show up in the world.
In the world of Neuro-Lingustic Programming (NLP), where we use the basic language of the mind to really deep dive into the subconscious mind easily and effortlessly, and create profounding shifts, we learn how to shift into the identity of whatever it is we want to be or to do, and strengthen and reinforce our dream identity, with techniques that only take a few minutes.
For those who do not work with an NLP Practitioner, you can start to train your subconscious mind easily on your own. The subconscious mind thinks in pictures and symbols, so Vision Boards and Affirmations are a great way to start working on shifting your identity to the person you wish to be. When the subconscious mind repeatedly sees and hears the same thing over and over again, it will get to work to create the circumstances and situations in your life, to make those pictures become your reality.
I invite you to start thinking about the next level version of you – who is that person, what is the identity that you want to take on, what small steps can you take to become that person and to start showing up as that person in your life?