Any time you set a goal, that goal needs to be what NLP calls well-formed.
♦ The first condition is that the goal needs to be stated in positive terms.
♦ The goal needs to be initiated by you and maintained by you — is it something that begins with you, can be maintained by you and completed by you?
♦ There should be a specific sensory based description of the outcome and the steps needed to get there. What is the outcome? What will you see, hear and feel when you have it? What are the steps you need to get to that place?
♦ Your goal needs to ecological. There are four levels of ecology.
1. Something is ecological if it works for you. What will happen to me if I accomplish this? If there are some things that might happen to you that you’re not happy with you’re not going to be as congruent about getting the outcome. Congruent means that all of your systems are “go” with regards to that outcome. It means that you don’t have any niggling doubts, or little self talk inside your head that says “oh, you can’t have that” or “oh, you shouldn’t have that”. Congruent means that you are totally aligned inside yourself and all your internal representations say “go”.
2. We need to begin to look outside ourselves because ecology is not just the study of you but also what is going to happen to the other people in your life. The people around us can be colleagues, friends or family — what’s going to happen to them if you accomplish this goal?
3. The next level of ecology is societal. What is going to happen to society if you achieve this goal? This makes us ask — is what I’m going to do legal, ethical and moral?
4. The final part of ecology pays attention to the planet. If I get this goal is it good for the planet?
♦ For your goal to be well-formed, there should be more than one way to get the outcome.
♦ The first step towards your goal should be specified and achievable.
♦ The final condition is that outcome of your goal should increase choice.