Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Now have an experience ...

But only if you put it into practice. Although reading about NLP can be valuable in its own right, it's only when you put the principles and patterns into use that you gain the full benefit. Right now, you can have an experience that will demonstrate how powerful simple techniques can be.

Start by bringing to mind a memory that's slightly uncomfortable. Things didn't work out how you wanted for some reason, and you ended up feeling disappointed, unhappy or embarrassed. Mentally replay what happened, allowing yourself to see, hear and feel again what you did at the time.

Now take on the role of movie director in the cinema of your mind. You have full authority to change anything you want. Perhaps you'd rather have a cartoon. Play the memory again, only this time make the action more like Tom and Jerry or The Simpsons or some of your favorite characters. You might like to give the people in your movie cartoon voices as well.

How about adding background music? Make it something you find amusing, perhaps like the soundtrack from an old silent movie. Now play the memory again with the music turned up to just the right volume.

What you've done, without knowing it, is to 'recode' the way you represent that memory to yourself. So when you recall it, you won't feel the same. It may not bother you at all, and at the very least the feeling of discomfort will have diminished.

Now think of another situation, one where you had an argument or disagreement with someone, and you still feel bad about it. This time you're going to be a sports commentator, who's standing back and describing what's happening between you and this other person. Since your role is to entertain as well as inform, you may want to point out anything that seems interesting or amusing.

As you play the movie in your mind - say it's a disagreement with a colleague at work - your commentary might go something like this:

'Well, here we are again in Jill's office for another bruising battle with Jack from accounts. And Jill's straight in there with her complaint. No messing about here. But Jack was ready for that - he's pulling some papers out of his file. Jill's got her argument ready though...'

Have some fun doing this. Really get into the character of the commentator. It will probably take you less than a minute to review the crucial part of what happened. Now step into the memory and play it again, this time through your own eyes. Almost certainly you won't feel as bad and you may also have gained some valuable insights about how you could act differently in a similar situation in the future.

As we change our memories, our perceptions, our beliefs and our thoughts, so we are able to choose new ways of acting and behaving that allow us to live the life we want.

And that's the power of NLP.