DILTS'S PYRAMID: LETTING THE PROBLEM INTO THE SHELVES

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

If there are continuous problems at work, the "black streak" has dragged on, negative events prevail in life, it is difficult to find a common language with others, it means that it is urgently time to put things in order within yourself, carry out a general cleaning and put everything in its place. The time-tested model of logical levels, and in another way, the Dilts pyramid, helps a lot in this

This is a simple and reliable tool that is suitable for finding solutions to many difficult situations, it can get old unsolvable problems off the ground, helps get rid of destructive habits and generally understand yourself, put things in order in the inner world.

The logical level model describes a living system, which can be a single person, a whole company, or a society. The model consists of six levels. The levels of this system (pyramid) can be compared to the shelves on which our inner world is "laid out".

Let's dwell on each level of the Dilts pyramid and see what practical benefits we can derive from it.

A LITTLE OF THEORY …

Each "shelf" denotes some of its own part of subjective experience. Each of the levels of the pyramid is connected with others and affects the neighboring ones to varying degrees, depending on the hierarchy and the distance between them. Changes at a higher level will necessarily cause changes at a lower one. At the same time, changes at lower levels have a significantly lesser effect on the upper steps, or do not affect them at all.

Let's go through the levels from bottom to top.

Environment. The lowest level, basic. These are conditions, our environment, our surrounding world, objects, people, places, dates, dates and everything, everything, everything that surrounds us. This is what we encounter, contact, interact with in our daily activities.

Behavior. The second level, which includes everything related to the activities of a person (organization). This is the level of human activity. Since actions are performed on something (with someone, something, somewhere or sometime), this logical level is closely related to the lower level - the environment.

On the two lower levels - environment and behavior - our life takes place. At these levels is what most of our goals ultimately boil down to (getting pleasure, experiencing emotions, attention, increasing our own importance, communication, money, sex, learning something interesting). Requests and demands, as well as the overwhelming number of official "manipulations" (orders from the management to do something, command, instructions, etc.) are also at these two logical levels.

Capabilities. The level that determines our behavior is the source and direction of movement. It can also be said that it is the level of experience that lies behind our perception of the environment.

Beliefs and values. This is the level that has absorbed all the human experience. Beliefs and values are shaped by many factors: family, school, friends, environment, environment, culture, etc. At this level, there is no room for excuses why I did not do something - there are only answers "How to achieve this?" This is the level of answers to the question "Why did a person do this?"

We disassemble the problem into its component parts, answering simple questions

Identity. The penultimate level builds a connection with our personal role. This is the role that we mainly play - joker, mother, hero, businessman, friend, lover, child, macho, teacher, etc. At this level, the main question is “Who am I?”, That is, how do I imagine myself and the world around me? What beliefs, values, abilities, and behaviors prevail in each of the roles?

Mission. This is the level of spirituality that answers the questions “Why? For what? What's the point? . It builds on our vision of large systems outside of ourselves that “surround” specific roles, values, beliefs, thoughts, actions, or sensations. This is the spirit level of a person or organization.

… AND EXAMPLES FOR VISIBILITY

So, we have dealt with the "shelves" of the logic level system. Now let's look at how to work with them. Let's do this using the example of problems of different "weight categories":

no one loves me, no one needs me;

I can't get up on the alarm clock - I postpone the rise for 5 minutes, five, six times;

I can't find a common language with N.

Let's start analyzing our first problem. First, we disassemble it into its component parts from the bottom up, answering simple questions that should show us at what level of the pyramid the parts of this problem are located.

"NOBODY LIKES ME": LAYOUT ON "SHELVES"

Environment. Who should love me? How should I be treated?

Olya, Nastya, mom, brother, Igor, colleagues in the department, the boss and, of course, Kostya. The rest would be nice too. They must respect me, treat me well and benevolently, take me for their own.

Behavior. What behavior, what actions from others do I want to see?

They give me all kinds of attention, listen, take my opinion into account, consult with me, set me up as an example, spend their time on me, enjoy communicating with me, call me with them.

Capabilities. How will people like me? What skills do you need to develop?

Ability to listen, increase erudition in economic issues, start cooking "snacks", start a blog and collect interesting information for us, read 4 books on your specialty and apply what you read at work. Slowly update your wardrobe in the direction of the classics, learn to walk on high heels.

Beliefs and values. Why do I need universal love? Why do I want to be needed by everyone?

Those who are not loved are bad. You can't be bad. From childhood, they taught that you need to please a teacher, neighbor, uncle, aunt. Those who are not loved are asocial types, social outcasts. In addition, I really love when they pay attention to me. I cannot live without attention.

Identity. Who am I, a person loved by everyone and needed by everyone? What is my role that I play?

I am the center of attention and attraction.

Mission. Why am I doing all this?

To please myself.

TWO LEVELS HIGHER

Einstein wrote: "No problem can be solved at the level at which it arose." He did this without at all referring to the Dilts pyramid, but his words very accurately characterize the approach to solving his internal problems.

The solution to the problem (or something that can significantly move it off the ground) must be sought at higher levels of the system of logical levels. Most often, the most effective solution is located two levels above the “shelf” on which the problem is located.

Let's take a look at the rest of our examples.

I can't get up on the alarm clock - I postpone the rise for 5 minutes, five, six times. Suppose the main problem lies at the level of behavior. Then, most likely, the most effective medicine should be sought at the level of beliefs and values. What value do I realize when I don't get up for the alarm? What values will I realize when I start getting up at the first signal?

I can't find a common language with N. Let's say the main problem is defined at the level of the environment. To find a solution, it is worth taking a close look at the level of ability. What abilities (experience, skills, abilities) do not allow me to find a common language with N? What skills will help you do this?

Having discovered the main difficulty in the case of "Nobody loves me" at the level of convictions, you need to move to the mission step in search of solutions. Let's say you figured out that the biggest challenge is changing your personal beliefs about why others should like me. You realized that you want to be liked for two reasons. The first is banal pleasure. The second is the debt to the program that was laid in you since childhood. To please others is important and necessary. Because of the latter, an evaluative opinion grows in us, which we put at the forefront of all our activities. As a result, the most important motive becomes what they say or think about us.

A mission decision could be to redefine the value of universal love.

ABOUT SCRAP AND DISSONANCES

It is impossible to break the established perception at the mission level, we remember that at high levels, changes occur extremely slowly. In this case, it will be necessary to consider alternative ways to please yourself, and control the influence of an evaluative opinion and artificially lower its importance for some time. Look for new ways to help you like yourself, such as taking on a difficult project at work in the professional field, and looking for something that gives you pleasure in your personal field and make it a hobby. Or maybe just set yourself the goal of making yourself the center of your attention - start taking care of yourself like a royalty, love yourself, pamper yourself, praise, notice successes.

After some time of such work, the level of significance of the evaluative opinion will decrease (although it is unlikely that it will be possible to completely get rid of it). But developing alternative ways to please yourself will help shift the focus from trying to please everyone to a different area that will be under your control.

No problem can be solved at the level at which it arose. Albert Einstein

Once you have decided on a suitable solution, "walk" with it from top to bottom throughout the pyramid, starting with the mission, to check if it matches your levels. Maybe the solution you have found falls into dissonance with your identity. Then look for another one or correct the selected one.

Thus, the pyramid of logical levels is a working tool that disassembles a problem into its component parts, assigning each of them to a certain category of our inner "I", helps to identify the level at which it is easiest to find an effective solution to the problem, and then check it again passing through the pyramid.

Sergey Dubovik