Today I wanted to reflect on the concept of ecology, which is used in neuro-linguistic programming to check out the congruence of a decision or change. At the turn of the year it's a good time to reflect on the ecology of your sense of what you want from 2022, after all, if you head off in incongruent directions you’re likely to find yourself back at square one, or someplace you really don’t want to be, in fairly short order.
Ecology is the study of consequences, and in this context I mean the consequences for you, for those around you, and for the world at large. At the moment questions of consequences are front and centre for us all as we navigate what is and is not good to do in the face of a pandemic, and our mental and physical health, our networks and communities.
So, how might you check out your consequences? Here are some ecology checks I learned many moons ago back when I was training, that I still find very useful:
If you did this / make this change, what would you gain?
If you did this / make this change, what would you lose?
If you didn’t do this / make this change, what would you gain?
If you didn’t do this / make this change, what would you lose?
If you did / changed this, would you want that?
How will your life be different after you do this / make this change?
How will doing this / making this change affect other areas of your life?
Knowing all of this, are you sure you will want to have done this / changed? Are you sure you’re sure?
For any significant decision or change, checking out your ecology around it is a very good idea. Sometimes we don’t really have to make a decision, we just keep walking forwards and it makes itself, but other times, deep and connected reflection is wise.
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