In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series of articles we examined individual values, as taught in our NLP Master Practitioner Training. We briefly described what they are, and we analyzed some important points to keep in mind about values – points which I will reproduce below since they make the meat and potatoes of our series of articles on this theme.
We also briefly described (very briefly and without doing justice to each values level thinking) the first five values levels in the series of eight described first by the industrial psychologist, Dr. Clare Graves. We will continue the description of the other three shortly.
The important points to remember from our previous two articles are:
- Values are not what we like but what is important to us
- Every person has values
- Every individual set of values is different from another individual’s and
- No values levels (IE types of thinking) are “better” than others” but they are all geared to support existence inside a certain type of environment.
- Development through the values levels and different types of thinking is possible but not guaranteed.
- Values are not related to intelligence or IQ, nor are they related to how people think (in NLP we call these strategies). They are not even related to the concepts of “toward” and “away from” (carrots or sticks).
Now let’s add to this another very important point to remember:
- At least in the western world (this is the one I am most familiar with) nobody “is” a certain values level. You can’t say to somebody “Oh, you’re a VL X!”
First of all an individual is not his/her Values Levels (VL) thinking. There is always far more to a human being than his values although for sure his or her behavior will be motivated by values. So to say that “s/he is a VL3 or a VL4 or…” – you get the idea, is a grave mistake. And it is very simple to understand why it is so. Look around in society. Most people have a percentage of VL2 as in family, clan, football team (tribe) affiliations, another percentage of VL3 as in “conquering disease” or “killing the competition”, another percentage of VL 4 “when the government says so we need to obey the rule of law”, and so on.
That being said, most of the population in the world is situated around VL 2, 3 and 4. There was a much bigger percentage of VL 5 in the US as well as in the western world in general (where I spend most of my time) – however as a result of the economic disaster that happened starting in 2007-2008 many prosperous small businesses have ended up broke. Which leads us to the next thought.
VL 4 and VL 5 are extremely important to understand for reasons which will hopefully become clear by the time we’re done with this series. Therefore before we move onto VL 6, 7 and 8 descriptions, let’s talk a little more about VL 4. This type of thinking is concerned with installing ordered systems – remember VL 4 arises as a reaction to the chaotic and irresponsible VL 3.
VL 4 searches for the only “one true way” and must submit to its authority. VL 4 has a place for everybody, and “proper” roles for young, old, men and women, children and adults, casts, grades, classes, seniority, or military ranks; “the system” (whatever it is) defines what is right and what is good and requires individual sacrifice for the “common good”. Most people in the world need a “solid pillar of certainty” according to which they derive the meaning of their lives from the moral, ethical and social point of view and this is offered by VL 4. Many people would not do the right thing out of their own accord by their fellow humans if it weren’t someone “up there”, be it in heaven, or the higher up in the corporation, or the police, or the government law, or karma … what have you, to be afraid of.
The funny part is the VL 4 fights other VL 4s for which VL 4 is better. Since VL 4 is encountered everywhere you find a system – yes, all systems are run inside VL 4, which means all governments, all military, all police, all justice departments, it is common for different expressions of VL 4 to fight each other literally to extinction.
Now, corruption is rampant here because VL 5 is rearing its head inside individual members of these organizations. Individually the members of our governments, police, army, justice departments, religious organizations, etc., etc., are motivated by their own individual values. So you have people working for a VL 4 institution who think mostly inside one of the VL2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Therefore you end up with a mixture of individuals coming together under a VL 4 system.
Now if that weren’t confusing enough, let’s add this to the mix: all “isms” are VL4, which puts commun-ism, social-ism, capital-ism, nazi-ism, catholic-ism, hindu-ism, buddh-ism, corporat-ism and other “ism” you can think of inside VL 4.
Yes, even the system of McDonalds (not the corporation, but the system) is VL 4.
So behavioral freedom is severely restricted in VL 4 and personally I have only one question which VL 4 will not understand: who defines the cultural rules of a society, and who decides the changes to happen to a society over a long period of time? VL 4 will quote me a book, or an operational manual, or a governmental set of rules and regulations, but VL 5, and 6 and 7 thinkers will understand my question pretty well.
Let me give you an example so you can see that intelligence or IQ has nothing to do with the expression of different VL. One of our students, a very bright man in his early 40’s took all our NLP Coaching Trainings including the NLP Trainer’s Training. He became a very good and successful trainer teaching tens of students every year. Extremely knowledgeable he showed a promising career in his country. Personal misfortune struck and in spite of this astonishing career, his relationship disintegrated, followed by a bitter divorce. As a result of this traumatic chain of events, he dropped everything he was doing and became devotedly religious – he became a missionary for a certain religion.
Is it good? Is it bad? The correct answer it is neither! It is how it is!
Remember each individual goes through this in his individual journey. It is a progression through different complexities of thinking.
So here you have an example of a person who started the journey of NLP while inside VL2-3, did well, had a traumatic event and transitioned in VL4. Success, career, finances, standard of living became irrelevant. The word of God is all that matters to him. This is a very good example of how values influence one’s behavior because of the change of what is important in one’s life.
Remember again, values are not what you like, they are what is important to you!
In Part 4 we’ll continue our journey through the development of consciousness via the different values levels thinking.
Be well.
10 Comments
Evelyn Cardinal
Neat
James
“Remember each individual goes through this in his individual journey. It is a progression through different complexities of thinking.”
At what point do you now stop using the paradigm of journey to realise that you are only ever running away from your self.
Adriana
Agreed James, the question remains how many people know themselves? This paradigm gives people some understanding as to where they are. And this is a paradox (as in VL 7 paradox). You are yourself in VL 2,3,4,5,6,7,and 8. You cannot not be yourself at some level. And – notice I did not say “but”, I said “and” – at the same time, many people I know do not even begin to know who they really are, what they really want, etc. and respond either emotionally with a knee jerk reflex or mechanically based on their indoctrination, to life and all its aspects. So this paradigm is designed to act as a tool – in order to figure out where you are and how much more it is to you. Please also remember that there is no end to the values levels. this should tell you a lot. It is a perpetual development. Do you think that we really can consciously know who we are? By definition our conscious minds are limited to the five senses which are pitifully insufficient in their representation of reality. I think we can use this paradigm as well and Time Line Therapy® and any other tools the conscious mind can conceive of to strive to know more and more of who we really are. And that process in and of itself is a journey. If you just say “I don’t have to “do” anything, because I simply “am”, this attitude invites to placidity and this can keep one stuck.
Adriana
Oh and one more thought, and this is important in the context of coaching – to begin to make a difference in the world (and in your client’s life) one needs to know what the world really looks like – or what the client’s model of the world looks like. HOW does this person think? That is the first step. I had once a young lady who very righteously told me that we don’t have to take any action or do anything – all we need to do is to put a pink bubble of love around the planet to heal it. Well… you figure out what values level thinking she displayed with that remark. For this purpose the understanding of different ways of thinking can be essential – it leads to results where before were none. To do a successful coaching session, first you need to know what’s actually happening, how the person thinks, how his/her mind operates and then you can affect change from where the person is and not from where the person it not. That would lead to a happy client and a happy coach.
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Jade Martin
This is more of an observation that a question – but I like that both we, and our values, evolve as we learn and grow – both consciously and subconsciously. Imagine how much more accepting, accomodating and inclusive we would be as a society if there was a wider awareness, globally, of what personal values are and the effect they have on our behaviour and interaction with others. Equipped with that greater level of understanding and foresight, we would have the widespread tools to be a more respectful, compassionate and just society.