DAY SEVEN: STEP UP TO SUCCESS

One of the major reasons that people become interested in NLP is for personal development. Almost all of us feel that we are not quite at the level that we could be performing at. Not only is this a feeling natural, it is a good one too. The desire to develop oneself is what drives us forward to a higher plane of greatness. NLP can provide you with the tools that you need to develop yourself into the person you know you can be.

One of the major difficulties we face is to move forward even when things are going very badly for us. It is easy to move forward when the world seems to be going in our favour. But when we face adversity we often feel resource less and unable to summon motivation. One of the great things about NLP is that you can use the technique known as anchoring to quickly bring yourself back into a state of resourcefulness and confidence. Once you are in this state you will be ready to tackle whatever challenges you face.

An anchor can be defined as an external stimulus which sets off an internal state. We already have anchors in place. It’s just that we are usually unaware of them. The smell of fried chicken is a classic example of an anchor, which stimulates a certain reaction. For most people this is an internal state of hunger and desire. The interesting thing to realise is that NLP offers you the tools to change what this anchor means for you. Imagine if you were trying to lose weight and you could change the anchor of the smell of fried food to one of disgust rather than hunger. Wouldn’t this be a useful thing to be able to do?

One of the things most people want from personal development is to discover a way to put ourselves into a resourceful state. Here is a simple way for you to be able to create a resourceful state on cue.

·        Firstly get clear exactly about what kind of state you want to be in. One of the keys to NLP is to be clear about your intentions. How do you want to feel in your resourceful state? Do you want to be energetic? Do you want to be calm? Do you want to be confident? You need to know exactly what resourceful means to you.

·        Next think back to a time when you were in that resourceful state. You need to find a time when you felt resourceful, however it does not need to be similar to the situation you are in now.

·        Finally you want to relive that time now in your mind. Whenever you are visualising something in your mind with NLP it is important to be very clear about what it looks like. You need to recall exactly the sight, sounds, smells and feelings of what that time was like. Give yourself enough time to vividly recall what it was like. Your image should be like you would see in a movie. Full of color and sound.

·        Once you have achieved your peak resourceful state it is time to set your anchor. Generally a hand movement makes a good anchor. Typical hand movements are clenching the fist. Or making a circle with the thumb and first finger.

Now in the future whenever you need to get back to that resourceful state simply fire the anchor. Just do the same hand motion that you did at that time in order to trigger the state. Repetition is key here. You may need to reinforce the anchor over a period of time for it to stick in your mind.

Another very useful NLP tool when it comes to NLP is modelling. Modelling is one of the fastest ways for you to achieve success. At its essence it say that if you do the same things as someone who is already having success in the area that you want to achieve in, then you can replicate that success. There are many ways for you to learn new skills. For example you could go to class or read a book. Bur the fastest way to accelerate the process is through modelling.

In modelling you are looking for an exemplar. This is someone who is particularly competent in the area in which you wish to succeed. This person becomes a model of how a person can succeed in this area. When you are modelling someone you want to look for underlying patterns in the way that they behave. You want to examine not just their physical actions but also their beliefs s and values. It is important that you get to the root of these if you want to achieve the same level of success as they have.

To be a successful modeller you have to be questioning and an excellent observer. Mastering the skill of modelling can have a massive impact on your success however so it is well worth learning. Remember that closer that you can get to the person that you are modelling the easier it will be to effectively model them.

It’s Your Future

NLP offers techniques and knowledge to help you in almost every area of your life. One of the fantastic things about NLP is that it is a constantly developing and evolving field. As we learn more about how the human brain works and what drives us NLP adapts.

Remember NLP is only effective if you put it into practise. Simply reading the principles found within this book and will not change anything in your life. You must take action. NLP has the tools change your life in ways that you could only dream were possible. But you are the only one who can make it happen.

Per aspera ad astra!

“Through difficulties to the stars!”