Life Effectiveness & Achievement Planning (LEAP)
Richard F. Liotta, Ph.D. & Rosemary Lake-Liotta, L.C.S.W.
Life Effectiveness & Achievement Planning (LEAP) focuses in on helping you develop a viable change plan, utilize your internal resources, boost motivation, develop personal success strategies, and modify behaviors and cognitions that limit effectiveness and achievement. It involves activities, exercises, and processes tailored to your individual needs and aspirations.
Defining terms:
“Effectiveness” is your capacity to adapt and thrive and manage the challenges life places in our path. Effectiveness applies to all areas of life including, but not limited to, personal growth, relationships, career, and health. It applies to more specific areas such as time management, decision making, motivation, problem-solving, creativity, attitude, and management of our behavior and emotions. Effectiveness can be reactive, dealing effectively with what is presented to you; or proactive, acquiring the skills and attitudes you need to achieve at a higher level than what you have now.
“Achievement” is successfully accomplishing desired results, including goals, objectives, desired changes, or desired outcomes. Achievement requires proactive behaviors and executing the steps needed to accomplish what you have set out to achieve. Effectiveness is necessary for achievement. Effectiveness sets the stage for achievement. Together effectiveness and achievement are about directing your life where you want it go.
“Planning” is identifying what needs to be done to be effective in the chosen areas and doing what is needed to achieve your desired results. As we define it, planning is not a static proposal; it is the process of taking steps toward a goal, assessing success, and adjusting the plan as needed.
Guiding methodology:
LEAP utilizes change technology, particularly Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Neuro-Semantics (NS). Many of the strategies of NLP and NS were developed by studying and modeling the patterns of excellence demonstrated by experts from the fields of psychotherapy, hypnosis, business, law, and education. NLP & NS are about achieving effective living, optimal functioning, and excellence. NLP & NS also provide techniques to help overcome the beliefs, emotions, and cognitions that limit us. They are also about changing and choosing the meanings we have, which direct our life and behavior.
NLP/NS have core principles that frame its techniques. The five listed here are particularly relevant to Life Effectiveness & Achievement Planning.
1) People have, or potentially have, the resources they need to make the changes they desire. The task is to identify and utilize existing resources more effectively or in new ways.
2) People learn very efficiently. Sometimes past learning interferes with effectively dealing with new situations, but past learning can be reorganized, updated, and supplemented to meet new challenges effectively.
3) The more flexibility and adaptability you have, the more choices you have and the more effective you can be. If what you are doing is not getting you the outcome you want, change what you are doing.
4) The words we use reflect our underlying perceptions, thoughts and feelings; and -more importantly- direct our future thoughts, feelings, and behavior. To change your future, change the words you use in communicating with yourself and others.
5) There are no failures, only feedback. Mistakes are to be embraced, not feared, because inherent in our missteps is information needed to adjust course toward a more effective path.
LEAP support:
The role of a LEAP facilitator and consultant is to support and encourage your efforts to live effectively and achieve your personal goals. This service is provided by phone or in person. It is not psychotherapy. It is outcome focused, on developing plans and progressing toward them. It is about tweaking your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to support change and accomplishment. It is about living effectively and resolving problems, because you can realize change.
If you are interested or have questions, contact either of us.
Richard F. Liotta, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Certified Trainer of Neuro-Semantics & Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Rosemary Lake-Liotta, L.C.S.W.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Certified Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming
© Richard F. Liotta & Rosemary Lake-Liotta, 2008.
