Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is an attitude - a way of
thinking and living in the world. NLP helps you focus on your
thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and beliefs to reach your goals
and achieve amazing results.
NLP has to do with 3 things:
Neuro:
Nervous system through which experience is received and processed
through the five senses
Linguistic: Words, language and nonverbal
communication systems through which neural responses are coded,
ordered and given meaning.
Programming:
The ability to organize our communication and neurological
systems to achieve specific desired goals and results.
See if this helps:
A boy asked his mother, ‘What is NLP?’
His mother said ‘I will tell you in a moment, but first
you have to do something so you can understand. See your grandfather
over there in his chair?’
‘Yep,’ said the boy.
‘Go and ask him how his arthritis is today.’
The boy went over to his grandfather. ‘Granddad,’
he said, ‘how’s your arthritis today?’
‘Oh, it’s a bit bad, son,’ replied the old
man. ‘It’s always worse in damp weather. I can hardly
move my fingers today.’ A look of pain crossed his face.
The boy went back to his mother. ‘He said it was bad.
I think it hurts him. Are you going to tell me what NLP is now?’
‘In a minute, I promise,’ replied his mother. ‘Now
go over and ask Granddad what was the funniest thing you ever
did when I was very young.’
The boy went over to his grandfather. ‘Granddad,’
he began, ‘what’s the funniest thing I ever did
when I was very young?’
The old man’s face lit up. ‘Oh,’ he smiled,
‘there were lots of things. There was the time when you
and your friend played Father Christmas and sprinkled talcum
powder all over the bathroom pretending it was snow. I laughed
– but I didn’t have to clean it up.’ He stared
into the distance with a smile.
‘Then there was the time I took you out for a walk. It
was a lovely day and you were singing a nursery rhyme you had
just learned. Loudly. A man went past and gave you a nasty look.
He thought you were being too noisy. He asked me to tell you
to be quite. You turned around and said to him, “If you
don’t like me singing, you can go and boil your head.”
And carried on even louder… ‘The old man chuckled.
The boy went back to his mother. ‘Did you hear what Granddad
said?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ his mother replied. ‘You changed how
he felt with a few words. That’s NLP.’
