Six Pillars of NLP
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or shortly abbreviated, NLP is all about people’s way of organizing their thought pattern. In simple language, it is one proven technique through which you can change your way of assuming the situation or an entire thought process including past experiences and life approaches.
The basic ideas of NLP were developed around 1973 by Richard Badler and John Grinder. They studied the communication and influencing patterns of successful people in various fields. By analyzing and modelling their behaviors, they hoped to identify behavior patterns that anyone could copy to achieve similar success. NLP incorporates models and theories from disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, anthropology, mathematics, cognitive theory, and verbal and non-verbal communication.
We call know that pillars are important for any structure or any building to sustain. They provide the required support for the structure to stand tall. Similarly there are 6 pillars of NLP through which you can reprogram your mind and achieve anything in life.
1. The First Pillar is 'You'
This is the most important pillar. You are the center of NLP's activity. Any NLP intervention is focused on you and getting you to achieve the best results. Its success depends just as much on how resourceful and skillful you are as much as the models and skills that the NLP practitioner uses. Normally we blame others for not achieving success, we point fingers at others. Now tell me if your success lies on others that mean they need to change so that you can get your success. This is practically not possible. For your failure and success it’s You who is responsible. You need to change yourself for achieving success.
2. The Second Pillar is 'Presuppositions'
These are the guidelines of NLP, ideas and beliefs that are taken for granted. Every NLP action is based on them and they are not disputed. Our Mind acts on our belief. NLP presuppositions teach us that if our belief system is strong we can start looking things in a different way. We can find solutions to our entire problems. We need to have positive affirmations so that we have positive thoughts which will make our beliefs strong.
3. The Third Pillar is 'Rapport'
It’s a very important pillar and it has a huge impact on NLP techniques. The relationship established is crucial to achieving the right results. Mutual trust and respect are needed, as understanding and respecting the way another person perceives the world and reacts to different stimuli is essential for good communication. A good rapport will determine others to feel acknowledged and be more responsive to your words. Some can build rapport instantly, but in other instances, time is required to establish trust and an effective rapport. There are many techniques in NLP which without a rapport (effective communication), the proper and efficient result will not be obtained from them. By knowing the methods, our relationship with the people we deal with during the day and even strangers will improve.
4. The Forth Pillar is 'Outcome'
One of the great advantages of NLP is that instead of focusing on the past and problems, helps people focus on the future and having a goal and solution. Any NLP intervention focuses on an outcome. One of the basic things is being clear about what should be achieved and being able to define from the other person's viewpoint what goal is to be reached. One of the criteria for success is that you should be goal-oriented and know what you want. Every single action in NLP is formed around an outcome that is to be achieved. You should have an absolute clear picture in your mind about the outcome. Once you have a clear outcome, only then you will have a defined roadmap, plans and you will start taking action for achieving the desired outcome.
5. The Fifth Pillar is 'Feedback'
Acquiring information from the other person is also essential. Every step is based on what the previous one has achieved and feedback gathered. Accurate feedback relies on paying attention to all senses: looking at, listening to and feeling what is happening after each of your intervention. It’s important that you are aware of your journey and keep monitoring the progress. You should have a clear idea about how much you have achieved and how far you are from your desired results.
6. The Sixth Pillar is 'Flexibility'
The path to achieving the desired goal is rarely an easy one. Often enough, the first approach is not the right one, so flexibility is needed to go around a problem and find the most precise way of dealing with an issue. Flexibility relies on choices - the more you have, the greater the chances of succeeding when faced with an obstacle. You cannot be rigid with your choices, if needed you need to rework, relook and recourse for reaching your destination. Whoever shows more flexibility in any field will be more successful than others. The more different ways you find and the more options you have, the better your chances of success. You have to be flexible to find different ways. One of the goals of NLP is to increase the ability to be flexible. If something wasn’t effective and did not work for you it would better to be flexible and change it. Someone with more behavioral flexibility can control the situation to his advantage.