Neuro Linguistic Programming: An Intro to NLP

It’s different from traditional self-improvement, therapies, and positive thinking methods because it relies largely on a method called modeling and focuses on what works. It works off of certain presuppositions, and sometimes, it even disregards the truth.

NLP is very much about context, one of the things that it presupposes is that failure does not exist. NLP also assumes that if you want to make a change in your life, that you have all the resources that you need to be able to do that.

It doesn’t matter whether or not the presupposition is true as long as it is useful. For example, is a drill true? What, you never asked that question about a drill? I never have neither, but I’ve used one many times and it works just fine whether or not it’s true.

Another presupposition in NLP is that people work perfectly. Even if someone is consistently getting results that they don’t want, they are not broken.

Some therapies seem to operate on the premise that there is something wrong with people and they need to be repaired in some way. This can be disempowering and tends to turn people into victims by reinforcing a belief that they’re in some way damaged or broken. This, in turn, gives people an excuse to repeat negative behavior in the future.

Take, for example, the case of someone who has a self-limiting belief that they’re a bad learner. They’ve been told all of their life that they have bad study habits or can’t learn a particular subject (I’m bad at math). They become a victim of a limitation that they’ve set for themselves and avoid learning new things in this area.

Instead of looking into why someone is a bad learner, neuro-linguistic programming would instead have them focus on modeling the behaviors and beliefs of people who are good at learning. Remember also that another presupposition of NLP is that you have all the resources at your disposal to make a change.

As Talane Miedaner writes in her book, “Coach Yourself to Success” there’s a similar principle used in life coaching that the “present is perfect.” It essentially forces you to start from where you are and empowers you to make changes, rather than turning you into a victim.

NLP tells us that if someone can accomplish something, then someone else can do it as well by modeling those who are successful. It’s also flexible in that it says that if your current processes aren’t achieving the results you want, then try something different.

Neuro-linguistic programming was adapted and put into practice by one of its most well known students, Tony Robbins. Tony made himself famous using his own brand of NLP-based self-improvement to show people how to cure phobias and turn their lives around in a very short time frame.

A fair amount of information on NLP is available online if you want to learn the basic techniques. There are also many practitioners you can work with to enhance your skills and understanding. If you’re looking for an effective and practical approach to life change, then this may do the trick.

Bookmark with

Hide Sites