Quick Recap

As we covered last week, the Four Levels of Being Model is an essential tool to have in your toolkit if you are serious about self-help and personal development and are committed to taking your life to the next level. It helps you objectively understand and visualize the current level you are living at AND to identify what changes, if any, you need to make to take yourself to the next and even better level of you.

In a nutshell, each level is the result you get when you of combine the main activities you do each day with how they make you feel. For a more detailed description of each level check out our last article, Four Levels of Being – Which Level Are You?

 

Some Distinctions

It’s worth pointing out a few important distinctions that you‘ll need to understand before you can fully use the model for your own personal development. In this article, I cover off 8 important ideas that you need to know to master the Four Levels of Being Model no matter how busy you are and no matter what you are doing.

 

Tip 1: More on the Greater Good

When I teach the Four Levels of Being Model to my coaching clients, I usually get questioned about the “good for the greater good” concept. The question is usually something like this, “How can it be good for the greater good if I <insert any activity here>?”  It is an excellent question and well worth asking.

Every day you make impressions and share your energy with everyone you come into contact with. They in turn are influenced by you and then have an impact on everyone within their sphere. By doing what is good for you, you will influence others to do the same even if it’s in some little way. Therefore, by doing something good for you, you are able to contribute to the greater good of your family and community.

A simple example of this is to think about the last time a stranger smiled warmly and genuinely at you for no reason. It makes you feel good and you may pass that feeling on to the next person you interact with.

 

Tip 2: Different Levels in Different Parts of Your Life

You can experience different levels in different parts of your life simultaneously.
There are 8 main life areas that I like to cover.

 

Here is a realistic example:

• Love Life – Level 1 – nice stable relationship

• Personal/Spiritual Development – Level 2 – you just started learning a new language and you are frustrated

• Physical Environment – Level 2 – you are moving house

• Career/Business – Level 2 – learning some new challenging skills at work

• Finances and Wealth – Level 3 – spending all you earn no assets, mounting dept

• Friends and Family – Level 3 – you have an unresolved conflict with an important family member

• Fun, Recreation and Entertainment – Level 1 – doing what you enjoy and is good for you

• Health and Fitness – Level 1 – happy with where you are, you are maintaining the status quo

It is important to take stock of where you are in each of the 8 main life areas and readjust if you need to. Just imagine if you were at a Level 2 in all 8 main life areas at the same time! You’d be growing heaps but you probably feel terrible and like you need a break before you collapse of stress and exhaustion.

 

Tip 3: You Can Change Your Level at Any Time

The main reason I love this model is that it help put you back in the driver’s seat. Once you identify which level you are at, you can change your level if you choose to. Here is what you need to get to each level.

 

Get to Level 1	Do something that feels good, is good for you, is good for greater good
Get to Level 2	Do something that doesn’t feel good but will move you forward by doing it
Get to Level 3	Do something that feels good short term but harms you in some way and ultimately moves you away from your dreams
Get to Level 4	Do something that feels terrible, harms you and ultimately moves you away from your dreams

 

Tip 4: If You Want Success, Expect Some Pain

If you want to continue on an upward trajectory then there are some cycles that you need to get use to.  The ideal path is to toggle between level 1’s and level 2’s at a rate that works for you until you die. The true path to mastery is always learning, always growing to the end.

 

Tip 5: The More Level 2’s You Do the Easier They Become

In the beginning of your life Level 2’s usually hurt lots because you don’t have enough practice at how to handle yourself in tough situations (which is what a Level 2 is). As you live longer and push through more and more level 2’s you get better and better at handling them because you’re better at handling and understanding yourself.

Eventually you start looking at Level 2’s as opportunities and challenges that are something that you plan for and look forward to!

This is because you know, from experience, that the pain or rather, inconvenience they will cause will be worth it. You know that Level 2’s mean you are achieving something important and meaningful to you. This makes you a more complete person than you were before and means you will be able to see new possibilities that couldn’t have existed to you before.

 

Tip 6: Coping Mechanisms

I feel that I’ve got to the stage where I plan for and look forward to my next Level 2’s but it wasn’t always like this – Level 2’s use to kick my butt and spirit! I use to suffer through them.

In those days, I knew that Level 2’s were good and needed to be pushed though so I adopted a few catch phrases to get me through.

I thought I’d share some of them with you, just in case they can help you too!

 

• “It’s not hard, it’s just new”

• “There’s no failure only feedback”

• “Challenges mean I’m growing”

• “I’m on the path to Mastery”

Another powerful technique is to learn to manage your negative self-talk. I’ve written a whole article on this here.

 

Tip 7: Discover What You Really Need to Be Happy

For the Four Levels of Being to fully work its magic, you need to have a good idea of what you want in your life to be happy and fulfilled. The 4-Levels of Being is simply a framework which helps you to understand if you are on track to reach your ideal vision and helps you identify what you need to change to get back on track.

If you are a goal orientated person but you only have a vague idea of your vision in your head, its probably time for you to sit down and do some written personal development planning. At a minimum I would recommend writing some vision statements and if your up for it developing a complete personal development plan.

I’ve happily shared my complete personal development planning approach with you here.

 

Tip 8: Get Started

A perfect time to use the Four Levels of Being Model is when you are feeling unsure, scared or overwhelmed in your life. It helps you run a reality check to make sure you are on the right track, assists you to readjust if you need to and gain a renewed sense of courage and inspiration to keep going.

Start by answering these questions:

• What level am I at now?

• What level do I want to be at?

• What new activities do I need to do to get to the level I want to be at?

 

You Can Empower Yourself From Within!

If you use this model regularly to monitor your personal development it means you are continually reminding yourself of the control you can possess over your life if you choose to embrace the responsibility.

With enough practice, your ability to empower yourself from within eventually starts to become more natural which means that you can better control your emotional state and ultimately your happiness.

 

Good luck using the model!

I look forward to hearing how you go.