The Resource Garden in NLP: How to Activate and Expand Inner Strength
Resources are the foundation of personal growth – they provide us with strength, direction, and agency. In this podcast episode, Stefan Landsiedel and Marian Zefferer explain what resources mean in NLP, how you can activate them, and how the format of the Resource Garden helps you access your inner potentials. You will learn how to utilize strengths from the past, present, and future and integrate them purposefully into your life.
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Table of Contents
What are resources in NLP?
In NLP, we understand resources as all those abilities, states, and qualities that can help us in a specific situation. These can be external things – money, time, support from others – or internal states like courage, confidence, joy, or calmness. When we are in a difficult situation, we often do not lack the ability itself, but the access to this resource.
Internal and external resources
External resources are tangible factors: helpful people, supportive circumstances, tools, or financial means. Internal resources, on the other hand, are mental and emotional states that we can generate ourselves – self-confidence, enthusiasm, calmness, or focus. NLP specifically works with these inner qualities to enable desired changes.
The NLP equation
One of the simplest NLP formulas is: Problem state + resource = desired state. This means that between what you are currently experiencing and what you want to achieve, there is usually just one suitable resource missing. The key is to find out which one it is – and to activate it consciously.
How to find access to your resources
Often the resource is already present, but access is blocked. You may feel strong and confident in some areas of life while not achieving the same state in others. NLP assumes that you fundamentally have all the inner resources you need – you just have to create the right context to be able to access them.
A helpful thought comes from John Grinder: "We do not have a resource problem, but an access problem." This is exactly where NLP comes in: it helps to open mental accesses that allow you to activate powerful states exactly when you need them.
The Resource Garden – a model with nine fields
The Resource Garden is a fascinating NLP format based on two dimensions: Time and Perceptual Position. This creates a matrix of nine fields where you can discover and activate resources. This combination allows you to draw energy from the past, present, and future as well as from different perspectives.
The time dimension: past, present, future
Resources exist in every timeline of your life. In the past, you find qualities you had before – such as lightness, humor, or courage. In the present, you can utilize current abilities. And from the future, you can draw resources from your future self – the wiser version of you that has already mastered challenges.
The perceptual positions: I, You, and Observer
The second dimension is the perceptual positions. In the first position, you experience yourself – your own feelings and thoughts. In the second, you take the perspective of a close person, such as a friend or mentor. In the third, you view the situation as a neutral observer or from a symbolic perspective – perhaps as an animal, hero, or fictional character. Each of these perspectives can gift you new resources.
Practical application of the Resource Garden
The practical work with the Resource Garden is both playful and profound. You can mark nine fields in the room – for example, with paper sheets – and label them with a combination of time and perspective. Then you walk through the fields and collect resources that you transfer into your current situation.
Here’s how to proceed
1. Set up nine positions in the room – for past, present, future, and for each of the three perceptual positions (I, You, Observer).
2. Step into one of the fields, such as "Past – I," and remember a time when you were strong and secure. Feel this resource and send it to your present self.
3. Change perspective: Perhaps there is a future version of your best friend sending you courage now, or a wise mentor offering calmness from afar.
4. Collect the resources step by step and fully integrate them into your present.
How to transfer resources
The transfer of resources can happen in various ways: as a beam of light, as a symbolic gift, as sound, or simply as a feeling. What matters is that you consciously perceive the resource and integrate it into your current experience. By physically taking on the different positions – known as anchoring – the process becomes particularly intense.
From the Resource Garden to the High-Rise Model
The Resource Garden is the two-dimensional basis, but NLP expands this model into the third dimension. Imagine the nine fields as a floor in a high-rise building. Above them are further levels – environment, behavior, skills, values, beliefs, and identity. This structure is known as the logical levels of Robert Dilts.
On each level, you can collect resources: In the environment, you find supportive people or objects, on the behavior level helpful routines, on the skills level your knowledge and competencies. On higher levels, you work with values, beliefs, and identity – the deepest sources of inner strength. Thus, the Resource Garden becomes the foundation of a comprehensive growth model.
Conclusion: Resource work as a life skill
The Resource Garden impressively shows how flexible and creative NLP works with inner states. Resources are everywhere – in you, in your past, in your future, and in the people around you. When you learn to activate them consciously, change becomes easy, playful, and sustainable. You discover that you already carry everything you need within you.
If you want to dive deeper into these topics, try the World of NLP for free. There you will find practical exercises, guided formats, and a community that supports you on your journey to more energy, self-confidence, and inner balance.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Resource Garden in NLP
What is the Resource Garden in NLP?
The Resource Garden is an NLP format that allows you to activate and consciously use your inner strengths. You explore resources from the past, present, and future in nine fields as well as from different perspectives – for example, from your own view, that of a friend, or an observer. This creates an inner network of strength, trust, and creativity.
How does the resource garden work in practice?
You set up nine positions in space, combining the past, present, and future with the perspectives of I, You, and Observer. In each field, you recall situations in which you experienced certain qualities – such as courage, calmness, or joy – and symbolically absorb this energy. In the end, you bring all the resources back into your current experience.
What goals does the resource garden support?
The format strengthens self-confidence, resilience, and emotional balance. It helps you stay calm in difficult situations, draw on past successes, and develop new perspectives. Many use it for personal development, decision-making, or preparation for challenges.
Can I conduct the resource garden alone?
Yes. With some practice, you can apply the format yourself. You only need a quiet room and some imagination. It becomes even more effective if you are guided by a NLP coach or trainer – especially the first time, to experience the structure safely.
How does the resource garden differ from other NLP techniques?
While many NLP formats focus on individual situations, the resource garden integrates multiple time and perspective levels simultaneously. This creates a holistic activation of your inner potentials – not just short-term, but as a lasting inner resource.
What does 'resource' mean in the NLP context?
A resource is any ability, emotion, or experience that helps you shape a situation positively – such as courage, humor, calmness, or clarity. In NLP, it is about consciously activating access to these inner states whenever you need them.
How can I better utilize my inner resources?
By learning to deliberately control your inner states. Visualization, body posture, breath, and language are tools to consciously activate resources. The resource garden shows you, where these strengths lie within you and how you can access them at any time.
What is the connection between the resource garden and logical levels?
The resource garden forms the foundation that is later expanded by the logical levels by Robert Dilts . You can activate resources not only at the behavioral level but also at deeper levels – such as values, beliefs, and identity. This makes resource work a comprehensive growth process.