It is a mental modeling tool for solving problems. NLP Logical Levels divides aspects of thinking into six levels, from lowest to highest: environment, behavior, capabilities, values, identity, and spirituality. Understanding at a higher level often has a profound impact on understanding at the first level. Likewise, problems that seem difficult to solve at one level can often be readily answered and resolved by thinking at a higher level.
The environment level includes people, things, time, places, and so on outside the individual,
The behavioral level consists of the specific actions we take, such as habitual actions, routes, operating procedures, processes, and methods.
The capability level consists of the knowledge, skills, speed, efficiency, proficiency, and choices we possess.
The values level consists of values, meaning, beliefs, qualities, ideas, principles, and the order of importance we assign to various matters.
The identity level is our perception of ourselves: who I am, what position I hold—in other words, whether I am capable.
The spiritual level consists of a sense of mission, expectation, and responsibility, as well as my relationship with the world and the way I view it.
Let’s look at how he solves problems. For example, if I’m unable to get into my work and find it difficult to engage, that’s a problem at the behavioral level. If I try to control my attention, perk myself up, and force myself to concentrate, the results are always limited. That’s because these solutions are also at the behavioral level. But if I approach the issue from the level above, I can find many possible causes and corresponding effective solutions. For example, from the perspective of ability, my difficulty engaging may be caused by a setback resulting from not being good at the task, or by boredom because it is too easy. I can switch to something that matches my abilities. Moving up another level to values, I may find that I do not particularly like this job, or that I feel there is no meaning in doing it. In that case, changing jobs or finding meaning in this one would be effective. Moving up another level to identity, I may discover that this is because I see myself as just an ordinary member of the company and an ordinary member of the team—insignificant, dispensable, and optional. But when you overhear your leaders discussing you behind your back and saying that you are a rare talent, you will naturally change your attitude and take your current work seriously. Awakening your sense of identity can bring you greater strength. Of course, moving up another level to spiritual strength brings even more. When people have faith, when they believe that labor is the most glorious, and when they think that they are contributing to the development and construction of socialism, every ordinary farmer, ordinary worker, party member, and member of the public will love the Party, devote themselves to their work, and shine in their own way; even every student will carry the rejuvenation of China in their heart. You see, the same problem can always be understood at many different levels, and each level leads to different causes and solutions. Overall, the higher our thinking rises, the greater the energy and the greater the changes it brings. The opposite is also true.
For problems at any level, you can look to the level above for answers; this is easier than trying to solve them at the same level. For example, if you are not naturally talkative, you should not force yourself to talk more. Instead, learn how to communicate well; once you can do that, you will enjoy talking. Spirit can shape identity, identity can create value, value can expand capabilities, capabilities can guide behavior, and behavior can improve the environment. This is the power of NLP.
What was said above does describe the situation, but it is not actually precise enough. This framework only draws your attention to the effects of thinking at a higher level while overlooking the difficulty of execution. Moving up a level does seem to go a long way toward making problems fall into place, but not every problem is so easy to solve. In fact, if you want to solve a problem at a given level more easily and quickly, moving down to the next level can also work. For example, poor grades are a problem that manifests at the capability level. If you look for answers at the values level, you might tell yourself that studying has a major impact on your future and that you need to take it seriously. Changing your attitude toward studying can then naturally improve your grades. This is certainly a good approach, but countless attempts by countless people have shown that developing this awareness and maintaining it over time is hardly easy. Looking for answers one level down, at the behavior level, is much easier to put into practice. For example, carefully identify which subject you are struggling with and focus your practice on that subject. Do more exercises, take notes, and discover useful techniques through repeated practice. This can quickly improve your grades. Not only that, but each lower level can also influence the level above it. Environment can stimulate behavior, as in the saying that children from poor families learn to shoulder responsibilities early. Behavior can improve capability, as illustrated by practice making perfect or last-minute cramming. Capability can change values, as in the saying that great skill brings great confidence. Values can shape identity: for example, someone who declared, “Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born to their positions?” eventually became an emperor. Identity can awaken a sense of purpose: for example, once you become a soldier, you carry great responsibilities. We can see that this NLP framework does not work only in the way many people emphasize, where problems at a lower level can only be solved by finding answers at the level above. It can work in the opposite direction too; moving either upward or downward simply has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Generally speaking, moving up one level can bring about a more decisive and thorough change, but it also requires more personal initiative and is more difficult to carry out. Solutions at the next lower level depend less on personal initiative and are easier to implement, but their effects are limited. Therefore, how to solve a problem depends on the specific problem and circumstances. If you want to quickly and easily address an immediate pressing need, you can work from the bottom up, starting by creating or entering a suitable environment to influence and change yourself. If you want to thoroughly resolve a major life challenge, you can work from the top down, starting by refining your values, reshaping your identity, and awakening your spirit, gradually bringing about major changes in your abilities, behavior, and environment.
Since both the upper and lower levels have their respective strengths and weaknesses, how can we maximize the strengths and avoid the weaknesses? We can combine both directions, draw on their advantages, and achieve balance. For example, in personal planning, working from the top down through the upper three levels, we can try to think deeply about our lives, clarify our self-positioning and what we are striving for, and pursue what we love without being constrained by the various difficulties we face at present—in other words, break free from the lower three levels. Working from the bottom up through the lower three levels, we should also recognize what can and cannot be done given the trends of the times and actual circumstances, identify what we are good at within the realm of what can be done, and remain clear-headed, unaffected by people peddling anxiety or by brainwashing, and avoid indulging in unrealistic daydreams. This is what it means to carefully consider the upper three levels. In this way, we can arrive at a relatively rational direction for personal development.