About Neuro Linguistic Programming

In the 1970s, John Grinder and Richard Bandler set out to study what set highly effective psychotherapists apart from the others in their field. What they ended up with was a methodology for self-improvement all its own, known as neuro-linguistic programming (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. For example, NLP presupposes that you have all the resources that you need in order to effect positive change. An additional assumption is that failure does not exist. In other words, no matter what you are successfully producing results, even if those results are unwanted. It doesn't matter whether or not the presupposition is true as long as it is useful. For example, have you ever used a hammer? Is a hammer true? Well it doesn't really matter if a hammer is true or false in order for it to work. Another presupposition in NLP is that people work perfectly. In other words, even a drug addict who is on the way to killing himself is working perfectly (at killing themselves). 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. As an example, think about a negative belief you have about yourself and how it might be holding you back. Many of our negative beliefs are reinforced by years of listening to others. Take the case of someone who has been told all of their life that they're a poor learner.

They become a victim of their own self-limiting belief and spend their time on trying to fix their perceived learning problems instead of accomplishing their goals. Since another presupposition of neuro-linguistic programming is that you have all the resources at your disposal to make a change, you would focus on modeling the behaviors and beliefs of people who are better learners. 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. Another principle of success used in NLP is the belief that if someone can achieve a certain result, then you can too by modeling their process. It's also flexible enough to embrace the concept that if what you've been doing isn't working for you, then you should change your methods until you get the desired results. One of the most famous students of neuro-linguistic programming is Tony Robbins. Tony became very well known for showing people how to achieve quick turn-arounds in their lives, and developed his own brand of self-improvement in part, based on NLP techniques. 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.