A complicated name for a simple process
NLP was founded by John Grinder, a professor of linguistics, and Richard Bandler, a mathematician and computer programmer with a keen interest in behavioural science. They met at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the early 1970s and studied how the mind works. When it came to naming their body of work, the answer came straight from their disciplines: Neuro Linguistic Programming.
What is NLP based on?
We take in information through our five senses. To avoid being overwhelmed, we filter it - through our perceptions of time and space, language, memories, decision-making style, values, beliefs and attitude. We delete, distort and generalise information according to these unique filters.
What gets through becomes an internal representation - pictures, sounds and feelings - and we instantly react to it by entering a corresponding state.
What is a state?
Being happy is a state; so is feeling low. Being "fired up" is a state, so is lethargy. States lead us to choose matching behaviour. The classic example is "fight or flight": a caveman sees a sabre-toothed tiger, adrenaline surges, breathing and heart rate rise, and the body is ready to run or fight. In a nutshell, a process starts with information and ends with behaviour and physical reaction.
The working model
NLP draws from semantics, linguistics, cybernetics, anthropology, gestalt and family therapy, behaviourism and hypnosis. It looks not for right or wrong choices, but for the positive intention behind a choice. It reminds us that "the map is not the territory": our memories are perceptions, and we can step back from them to keep the learning and let go of the emotion.
As awareness grows, we realise we can choose how we deal with information - and that different choices get different results. In the end, NLP is about usefulness and results.
Adapted from writing by Robyn Bastable.
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