What is NLP?

Well, I have at least one person who doesn’t know what I am talking about when it comes to NLP. I wanted to give a longer answer to the question in a post because I’m sure that more than one person is wondering the very same thing… and it’s a good thing to wonder, isn’t it?

NLP is both the art and science of how the brain codes information. The brain uses our 5 senses to intake all information that the world presents us with. Then the brain “codes” this information – kind of like a complex filing system.

For example, can you think of a time when you felt totally motivated? I mean totally and completely motivated?! Do you have a picture in your mind of that moment? Go back to that moment now and really look at the picture. Is it in color or black and white? Moving or still? Are you looking at the picture through your own eyes, or looking at yourself in the picture? How big is the picture? Where is the location of the picture? And are there any sounds that are important – do you hear something outside of yourself, or do you say anything to yourself? What feelings are important? Where are they located in the body? Is there a size or texture to the feelings?
Take a quick moment to adjust these settings. If it’s in black and white, make it in color – does it make you feel more or less motivated? Move the feelings around in your body – does it add to your motivation or take away from it? Fine tune the settings so that you feel like you are about to jump out of your chair and into action right now.

You have just elicited your motivation strategy. Your brain codes motivation with these exact visual, auditory and kinestheic inputs.

Want to test it? Make notes on what things created your optimal feelings of motivation from the above example. Then think of a time when you felt totally lethargic and lazy. Do you have another picture? Notice the differences between the two pictures and start changing the lazy picture. Add the color, location, feelings and all of the details you noted from your motivational strategy. Especially important is the location of the picture and whether you are looking through your own eyes or watching yourself in the picture. Ensure these match your motivational strategy.

If you followed my directions correctly – you will find that you added at least some (or perhaps a TON) of motivation to a state that once made you feel lazy. And you may, like I used to, dismiss this exercise as something so simple that it couldn’t work – yet as you try it now, you’ll find that indeed it does work – and it just may surprise you as to how WELL it works!!
That’s just one example of how the use NLP can change your experience. It’s uses are as varied as the individuals on this planet. It has applications in therapeutic processes, in HR (as CJCM rightly pointed out), in sales, in relationships, and… believe it or not, in home businesses too (bet you saw that one coming!! ).

I’ll be sure to weave more of this knowledge into this blog – and also have a ton of ideas as to how to incorporate it in more ways – so feel free to let me know if you have more questions about it – I’m happy to answer them publically so that everyone can learn more!

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