Discover these exercises, explained step by step, to test Neuro-Linguistic Programming on you, and take advantage of its many benefits.
Origin of NLP!
Taught and practiced all over the world, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) was invented in the 1970s by two American psychologists: John Grinder (who was also a linguist), and Richard Bandler (who was also a computer scientist).
NLP is a set of methods and techniques, to “act by knowing where you are going and why”, used in a wide variety of fields: communication, management, health, education, or even sports performance. …
NLP is also “a positive state of mind, turned towards opportunities, resources and solutions rather than towards the problems”.
What does “Neuro-Linguistic Programming” mean?
Programming: Throughout our existence, we record ways of thinking, feeling and behaving in our brain “software”. These programs vary from individual to individual, some helping and others limiting. The idea of NLP is to modify these to turn them into positive programs!
Neuro: this programming is done by our brain and our nervous system.
Linguistics: Language reflects our thinking and allows us to communicate with others, verbally and non-verbally.
These three associated terms, “Neuro-Linguistic Programming”, tell us that if we act on one of these systems, the others change …
The goal of this method? “To be at best with yourself”!
While respecting the person as he is (both cognitively, emotionally and behaviorally), NLP gives us the keys to “being at best with yourself”, by associating the things that are happening with the positive, by taking a step back to avoid feeling the negative emotional impact …
This can help in many situations where one might encounter difficulties: being comfortable presenting an important file at work, being calm and available for the children’s homework, being full of energy on the job. waking up in the morning, remaining attentive and benevolent in the face of an angry customer or person …
Some exercises to try, to get started now!
Exercise 1: anchoring!
Objective: Anchoring is a natural process which unconsciously and automatically associates an internal reaction to an external stimulus. We memorize these links and thus create what these are called “anchors”. As soon as an anchor is stimulated, the feeling experienced in the past instantly returns.
Anchors can be visual (a seashell in your bathroom reminds you of holidays in Mauritius), auditory (this piece of music, a moment of love), kinesthetic (this ball in your stomach, this moment of panic during of an examination), olfactory (that delicious smell of chocolate your childhood with your grandmother) or gustatory (the most famous description of a taste anchor is of course the madeleine of Proust!).
How to employ NLP:
Think about a situation where you feel an unpleasant internal state and ask yourself in which positive internal state (a memory, a place that calms you …) do you want to be in that situation?
Stressed, you want to be relaxed, anxious, you want to be serene or filled with self-confidence …
Once you have chosen your desired internal state, follow the procedure:
- Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and recall a memory where you experienced this positive internal state. Relive the scene by being fully associated with it, until you feel it completely in your body.
- Anchor the positive internal state. In this situation the kinesthetic anchor is the most effective. For example, you can make a fist or stimulate a point on the body (wrist, knee, ear, etc.) for at least 20 seconds. Repeat this operation 2 to 3 times to strengthen the anchor in place.
- Test the impact of the anchor. For a few moments, forget about the previous steps and think about something else. Then once in a neutral internal state, stimulate the anchor in place and allow the positive internal state to return.
- While stimulating the anchor, project yourself into the future in a difficult context. And let yourself experience what this positive internal state now allows you to do, as well as your new behaviors …
This magic button is now at your disposal to help you in difficult situations. But an anchor wears out if you don’t! Consider activating it regularly and strengthening it by stimulating it in new situations where you experience this positive internal state.
Exercise 2: the swish!
Objective: Word swish means “hissing” or “rustling”, like the noise of one image quickly covering another.
This technique allows you to modify a person’s internal representations and transform a negative feeling into a positive feeling. This is to bypass the trigger for the anxiety-provoking situation.
It is appropriate whenever an internal image triggers an unpleasant sensation or feeling: stage fright, discomfort, anxiety, lack of confidence, demotivation … It can also be used in addictive behavior.
How to employ NLP:
- Identify the problematic situation: in which situation do you want to react differently?
- Identify the image related to the problem: Now identify the internal image you see in this situation just before you have the attitude you want to change. Identify the internal manifestations that this negative image triggers in you.
- Create a positive image: let come a second image, an image of you having full confidence in yourself. To be useful in all circumstances, this image must be dissociated (you can see yourself as if a photo of you had been taken) and not contextualized. Modify this image so that it is really attractive and gives you positive body reactions, a feeling of well-being and fulfillment.
- The swish: close your eyes and visualize the first image. It should be big and clear. Then place a small dark image at the bottom left, your 2nd positive image. Grow this small image, which lights up as it covers the other, while the first image shrinks and becomes dark. Repeat by repositioning your 2 images and do this 5 or 6 times in a row, each time faster and faster. At the end of this process, visualize a white screen and reopen your eyes.
- Test the result: turn the screen back on and look at the image in front of you. Can you find the first image? What difference does it make?
- Project into the future: imagine yourself in a few weeks in a situation similar to the one you mentioned at the start … How does this new person that you have become behave? What do you feel ? What can you do now in different contexts in your life?
Reference: https://happyrubin.com/nlp/all-nlp-techniques/
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