I said before that the greatest thing about NLP is being able to control the way I feel in any situation.  That is a great thing, but there are other great things as well. I used to think that NLP taught people to see the world a different way.  It seemed to me that all the NLPers I talked to were approaching life from a perspective that was foreign to the majority of the population.  That's a by-product.  I've learned through NLP that the limits that I used to think were absolute in my life have crumbled to dust in a very short time.  I've made personal changes that are awesome.  I've watched people I love change beliefs that were limiting to them.

That's where the change in perspective comes.  I wonder what other limiting beliefs I'm about to discard... and the next thing I know I'm looking back at one, watching it fade into the distance as a piece of history.  I'll give you the latest two examples of this.   

I recently went to the dentist, to inquire about getting some major dental work done.  Note that I had thought the significant thing about this was that I'd finally put taking care of my self ahead of my fear/dislike of going to the dentist.  That was an improvement in itself, but the coolest change came after.  The work I'm having done will take a while, several appointments, lots of dollars and continue over the course of several months.  I had made the decision to do it, but I was approaching it from a position of fear, dread and obligation - yuck!  Then I had an appointment with an amazing woman who talked quite a bit while she was putting various gooos in my mouth.  She congratulated me for "working on [my] smile" and told me what a positive effect it would have on so many other areas of my life, how much better I will feel, how nice it will be to have a pretty smile to go with my pretty eyes... then she coached me on the ways to take care of my teeth, and invited me to floss while I'm watching television at night. :)  I walked out of her office feeling refreshed and excited about this whole process.  During that hour, I traded my belief about why I was doing this for hers, and it's made all the difference.  

Have you ever met someone who had a refreshing outlook on life, or an inspiring attitude about something, and thought "I wish I could feel that way" or "I wish I could believe that."  What I've learned this year is that not only I can (so can you), but how quick and easy it is to make the change.  

Second example, and also a good one...  For those of you who don't know me, I am a big woman.  I made a decision a while back to take better care of myself, and to do things that are good for me, and one of those is exercise.  I have a membership to a health club, and I went periodically, but again, with a feeling of obligation. - eww!  This summer my car broke down, and since I only live half a mile from work, I did a lot of walking until I got it repaired.  I started noticing after a while that I could walk further without getting tired, and I have taken advantage of that to go walking in the woods, and more recently, to take in the sights and sounds at the state fair.  I have an unusual approach to the fair.  I like to get there very early and visit the 4-H barns, then watch the venders setting up their booths before the exhibits open.  This year I made a complete trip around the fairgrounds before the exhibits opened and then made a second trip, seeing absolutely everything.  I had a great time, and then realized I'd been walking for about five hours and I'd only sat down to rest twice!  I was remarking to Mike about how nifty that was, and he mentioned to me that it was great that I had that for a model of exercise.  I hadn't thought of it as exercise... I'd thought of it as being able to enjoy the fair.  My mental image of exercise had been (eww) sweat and leg lifts and trying not to lose my breath.  After Mike so kindly gave me a dictionary definition of exercise :P  I did a little NLP exercise (there's that word again) to swap the eww feelings and images I used to have for the really wonderful feelings and images I had from my walk through the fairgrounds.  Much better!  Then the real surprise came when I was watching the news the next night and there was a story about the change in the percentage of elderly people in health clubs, and I thought to myself, "Hey, I'm getting off work earlier, and it would be much easier for me to get to the health club after work."  The feeling that accompanied that was I want to go work out - it will be fun and feel good.

Someone asked me not too long ago what specifically he could expect to get out of NLP.   I didn't know what to tell him, and now I know why.  I should have asked him what barriers he perceives in his personal and professional life.  What limits does he currently believe can't be changed.  I don't think anyone is going to say that learning NLP gives you healthier teeth or a more fit body.  Those are two things I'm experiencing as a direct result of using NLP in my daily life.   NLP is a tool, and like a hammer can be used to knock down a wall, or build a sun deck, or set the nail on which to hang a beautiful new portrait of you!      (11-2-99)

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