Pathways to Change - NLP & Tai Chi

Walt Disney was rumoured to use different rooms i his house for different aspects of his creative process. As most of us do not have Walt Disney's resources and do not have three spare rooms in our home lets make use of three separate spaces on the floor of one room.

(1) Select the problem you are going to work with. It can be small or large, as the strategy will work with either. Do not start evaluating the problem yet.

(2) Standing in 'neutral' space choose three places in front of you that you can step into. Select one floor place and place a piece of paper on it labelled 'Dreamer'. On the second space place the label 'Planner' and on the third space place the label 'Critic'. Actually having the spaces labelled helps the following associate processes.

(3) Think of a time when you were really creative, when your dreamer was making some very creative choices. Step into the dreamer position and relive that time. Step back into neutral space and normal consciousness.

(4) Now think of a time when you were realistic about some plan and put it into action in an effective way. It might be your own plan or somebody else's. As you recall this time step into the planner space and relive the experience. Step back into neutral space and normal consciousness.

(5) Now think of a time when you criticised a plan in a constructive way and saw weaknesses as well as strengths and identified problems. Again it might be your plan or someone else's. As you recall this time step into the critic space and relive the experience. Step back into neutral space and normal consciousness.

You have now anchored dreamer, planner and critic to a particular space on the floor and can proceed to use them with your problem.

(6) Now consider the problem you want to work with and step into the dreamer space. Let your mind wander freely. This is an ideas space and there is no room for the planner and critic. Do not let reality come into your thoughts. This is daydreaming or brainstorming time. It will most likely engage your visual imagination.

(7) Now step into the realist space and consider the plan you have dreamed about. This is about organising ideas to put it into practice. What would need to happen to make it real? How could you do it? This is more likely to engage your kinaesthetic system.

(8) Now step into the critic space and check the plan out. What are the strengths and weaknesses? Is anything missing? Is there anything surplus? What do others get out of it? What do I get out of it? What else is needed? This is more likely to engage your internal dialogue.

(9) Now step back into the dreamer space and take what you have learnt from the planner and the critic with you. Use the dreamer space to modify your dreams in the light of this new information.

(10) Continue to go round the three positions until your plan is complete - when it works out in all three positions.