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About Neuro Linguistic Programming

Neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP, was developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s. What started out as a study of why some very successful psychotherapists were so effective turned into its own method for self-improvement.

NLP focuses on what works, sometimes disregards what we might believe to be true or false, and works off of certain presuppositions. This makes it different from traditional self-growth and positive thinking methods, as well as psychotherapy.

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, 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.

NLP also assumes that people are not broken. In fact, they work perfectly. Even burglars, thieves, and alcoholics work perfectly.

Often, many people assume that they need therapy because they are broken and need fixing. Some therapies seem to reinforce this idea. This has a tendency to turn people into victims and excuse their negative behavior in the future by imposing an inherent limitation. In a sense, these methods predict failure.

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.

Professionals in the life coaching field utilize a similar concept that says that the present is perfect. This allows you to accept that things are as they should be and gives you the power to make changes in your life.

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.

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.

There are a number of resources online where you can learn the basic techniques and principles, and many life coaches and NLP practitioners you can work with to take things to the next level. If you're looking for a practical and effective approach to life change, then NLP may just be for you.