Literally, NLP stands for Neuro-linguistic Programming. By breaking the name up we can individualize 3 main components.
Neuro: Our experience is filtered and processed by our central nervous system through the five senses.
Linguistic: This is the response to internally received or surfacing stimuli, therefore, starting the verbal and non-verbal relationships with the external.
Programming: It means the mental effort that starts within the individual at the moment in which he receives information.
It is, therefore, evident that by perceiving the world using the five senses, each person perceives and processes things in a different way. Once all the information is gathered, an internal procedure of mental processing is activated that is composed of mental representations of that which is perceived.
These mental representations influence values and convictions which, at the same time, trigger an internal state, structured by emotions, feelings and sensations that form mental programs (metaprograms) or strategies of people still under the form of mental representations.
Following this internal effort, each one of us responds to stimuli with his/ her own language which can be of two types: verbal and non-verbal. Non-verbal language which is immediate, unconscious, automatic and symbolic is very important, and it often represents a way of achieving effective and real communications.
“The secret to having a successful life is inside of you!”
ATTITUDES TO INTEREST US IN NLP
When we approach NLP, we need to be pushed by a strong desire to participate in life and a curiosity towards exploring what is new, wishing to challenge ourselves in something unexplored in order to achieve and live our dreams.
How many of you have projects that are blocked by fear of failure, thinking of all the difficulties you might meet?
This behavior runs the risks of becoming counterproductive…….We are the first difficulty that we need to overcome.
You yourself need to focus on the results that you want to achieve and, moreover, dedicate all the energy you can give to your projects. Many people think that NLP is simply a group of techniques; instead, it is the study and modeling of success strategies, animated by the winning positive thought of those that have achieved great goals in all aspects of their life.
WE ARE GREATER THAN WHAT WE THINK WE ARE!
An example of this greatness was the American psychiatrist Milton Erickson who, notwithstanding his handicap, managed to develop the small amount of sensibility he had in order to be able to have better contact with others. He became the best communicator of his time even though he had difficulty in speaking. He believed in life and in love, seen by him as a great value. United with passion and positivism, they are the best conditions to learn NPL in the best way possible. Minds that work well are those that produce satisfactory results which are also visible to others!
Milton Erickson was a hymn to life! To be able to overcome his difficulties he found himself faced with a challenge, and the result of his challenge was Neuro-linguistic programming.
In fact, the first NLP originated from the comprehension. It was carried out by a study group at the Santa Cruz University (California) and its strategies have been used by many successful communicators. The modeling of M. Erikson played a fundamental role in this development.
We are the ones who, being born and raised in a culture which considers life a “valley of tears”, think that the moment something good happens, it is down to good luck. A dull life, without emotions or memorable events, is considered normal. Thus, with this widespread conviction, it becomes logical that existence continues in this “dullness”, because the brain is a learning machine and energy follows thought. In other words, we allow ourselves to be driven between euphoria and sadness when in reality we are the owners of the way we think.
Think positive and exciting thoughts if you want to have a happy and stimulating life!
Think negative thoughts and you will have a life full of troubles and regrets.
NLP is also an attitude, a means to positive living, optimistic, winning… etc. It teaches us how to change that which prevents us from advancing, transforming difficulties into opportunities of progression. It helps us to concentrate on objectives and to find the right way to achieve them. It increases our self-confidence, turning internal images and sensations into something positive. It unfurls with all its strength the potential that is in all of us but which we often ignore. It helps to improve our relationships with others because it puts us in a condition to better observe and fully understand the person with which we are speaking.
Originated in America during the 70s, it provides us with a series of successful methods, enabling us to achieve our objectives in all those areas in which communication is fundamental: sentimental, professional, sales, family harmony, etc. In the following years, other models were created that leaned towards the new direction of NLP 3.