Pattern… Modal Operators of Necessity are referring to words that imply that there is no choice such as; must, mustn’t, need to, shouldn’t, should, it’s a
necessity. These statements show that the person feels bondaged to a certain set
of actions by a set of clearly defined rules. This show’s up all the time in our lives, like when someone say’s something like, “I have to lose weight.”
Response… Responses to these questions gives the listener the opportunity to think more deeply about other alternatives to the way they are currently thinking.
It also opens up the listener to begin thinking about what the reasons might be
for why they feel bound to a particular set of rules that may not be serving them.
To the above example, there would be many different responses to that question
that would equally serve just as well as each other such as, “What would happen
if you didn’t?” This would allow the person to assess the consequences of their
behavior. You could also find out how they came to believe what they believe to
be true, by asking, “Who says you have to lose weight?” This will share the
reasons of why they think they have no other choice but to lose weight.
Outcome… The client will in most cases discover how they came to create this way of thinking, and will most importantly, allow them to think about the
BOOST YOUR BODY-IMAGE WITH NLP – NICKRITCHIELIVE.COM
46
consequences of not following what they think is something that they have no
control over. This can help to open them up to be free to express their behavior
more fully in the future, so instead of feeling bound by what they think has to happen, they can be free to interpret the many variations that could be possible, which allows them to choose any number of actions and responses at each given
moment.