Practical NLP – Fundamental principles | Holistic Edinburgh Hypnotherapist and Coach

Practical NLP – Fundamental principles

What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?

NLP could be described as 'the owner's manual for the brain": it can help you understand yourself better and as you learn to manage yourself more effectively new horizons will open up for you and you'll achieve your full potential more easily.


The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. No one can do it for you, but if you truly want to use these powerful tools the results may well surprise you.

Who is driving the bus?



If on the other hand if you put yourself at the effect end of the equation you carry the belief that other people (and not you) are responsible for how you feel and act. This idea is built in the English language in expressions such as "he made me angry, she made me feel... this car is winding me up".

This idea leads to believing that emotions are things that happen to you and it will make you act as if you have no responsibility for what you feel and for how you react. On the other hand, people that put themselves at effect also tend to believe that even though other people are responsible for what they do, they themselves are responsible for other people's emotions.

This way of thinking leads to giving your power away and  feelings of guilt whenever others wittingly or unwittingly manipulate us by telling us "you upset me".

So the answer to "who is driving the bus" is you! unless of course, you want to suffer the consequences of believing otherwise.

Do you drive in automatic or manual mode?

Let's stretch the driving metaphor a little more: when you drive in automatic you allow no space between what triggers you and your emotional response. Let's say that someone says something that you interpret in the light of your existing belief system as being offensive or upsetting. You tell yourself or label the incoming information as inappropriate insensitive etc. and then you respond accordingly by becoming upset/angry etc.


How do you deal with life's blows?

When you are at effect and something doesn't go your way you are likely to ask questions such as "why ?" "why does this always happen to me?"  This question tends to lay blame on yourself or others and focuses your attention on the past. By doing this it does not help you solve the situation or feel good about it.

When you are at cause the question tends to be more something like "What's going on here"? "How's this come about?" "What can I do to change things?" "What do I want instead of this?" These questions focus on the now, and on solutions, rather than the details of problems. If you approach problems this way you are more likely to deal more effectively with difficulties and things won't bring you down as much.

The map is NOT the territory - The world you perceive is NOT reality

To make sense of the world around us we need to filter the information we receive from our senses at all times. If we didn't we would be overwhelmed and would not be able to function because we would be lost in an overload of sensory information. Drugs such as LSD temporarily suspend our filtering system and that is why someone on the drug can be lost in mystical contemplation of a leaf for hours on end.


  • deletion

we don't notice what we're not interested in

  • generalisation

we see patterns even where there aren't any. what we expect to happen is influenced by our perception of previous events. e.g. if we win twice on roulette we believe we're on a winning streak

  • distortion is divided into four types: 
  2. Bandwagon effect (we're more likely to do or believe in something when we see many others do or believe in it)


How do you deceive yourself?

 While we use these cognitive shortcuts to help us with our daily tasks so that we don't have to think all the time about everything we do the negative effects of these shortcuts can be that

  • we jump to conclusions (generalisation)
  • we miss relevant information (deletion)
  • we view people through the lens of prejudice (distortion)





The implications of these principles are varied:

  • what you experience is NOT reality
  • A good map is one that is useful
  • yours is not the only 'truth"


How to make NLP work for you:


See other peoples' point of view: put yourself in their shoes and see the world and yourself from their point of view


Remember that your intuitions are just guesses: to avoid the cognitive error of mind-reading (that is, acting as if you knew exactly what the other person is feeling and thinking)  always check your intuitions against what others say they feel.


Start from what makes sense to others: when influencing others to build bridges to where you want them to be, rather trying to convince them that you are right


Explore the boundaries of your map: Ask yourself "where are my limits? Actively look for counterexamples to your generalisations.


Actively look for examples where your limiting beliefs aren't true. Limiting beliefs are beliefs that are holding you back or not serving you.


Ask yourself: what would happen if you did the very thing you think you can't do but would like to do?

Perception is often projection


  • downgrading information that contradicts our expectations and
  • playing up information that confirms our expectations


 What it takes to be successful


Ask  yourself :

  • What are you projecting out into the world that's getting in the way of your success (or of achieving your goals)?
  • What do you want to project instead?




So ask yourself what you want ( If you don't know, set yourself the goal to find out ) and expect to achieve it!

Set goals for yourself!


Whether you want better relationships, a raise at work or you'd like to shed a few extra pounds NLP can help you achieve your goals by showing you how to use your mind positively and effectively.


If you want to learn more about NLP I would suggest you listen to Andy Smith's Practical NLP podcasts, otherwise why not call me for a no-obligation consultation today and find out how we can work together to get you closer to what your heart desires?

Want to know more? Got Questions?

Get in touch or Schedule a free 15 min call: