On NLP and Learning

Neuro Linguistic Programming is a #modelling discipline. Our ability to learn is seated at the heart of any modelling process.?In children, it is common to ape adults in their vicinity and pick up language or skills. In adults, we tend to "copy" or "reverse engineer" that which we notice is worthy in others, and that we must imbibe in ourselves too!

At its core, #learning is a process, not an outcome. To say that I now know how to ride a bicycle is missing the point. To say, that I figured out how to pedal, while holding the handle and looking ahead, while striking balance and avoiding obstacles - these are sub-processes which got learnt along the way. Yes, riding a bicycle was an outcome. But that isn't achieved by doing something called "learning how to ride a bicycle". It is through finer observation, repetition and practice, and the eventual integration of all sub-processes together that gives us the result of riding a bicycle.

In a #coaching context, if we think of problem statements a client brings to us, a healthy way to start the engagement is to recognize that even the problem was learnt and picked up, and it is only now, in a different context that it appears to be a problem.?When the problem is not viewed as a whole, but a series of sub-steps, there is comfort for the client in knowing that one component of many components of their working method needs to be changed. This is also the aspect of evoking learning and growth in the client, which the International Coaching Federation espouses as one of the competencies a coach must demonstrate.

When #children face difficulty in learning higher level math or science, it is just that their prior method of learning science or math at a lower level is now insufficient to help them understand a higher level. If children are made aware that their ability to learn is what is still intact and that they are capable to learn a new way of #understanding high level math or science, the #confidence with which they approach the subject will be different.?I have personally applied this with my children when I recognized that my son learns faster when he uses a whiteboard and colored marker pens, whereas my daughter learns faster when she reads and writes things down.

In organizations, when a functionally strong manager is asked to lead people, it is seen as a major #transition but often managers who know how to run projects, don't know what it takes to manage people. However, if their ability to learn how to run projects is tapped into, then they can be taught how to be good at managing people. This is not about a gap in ability, it is about providing them a context in which they can apply their ability to learn in a different work context.

(Of course, in all of this, I am pre-supposing that individuals in question are willing and keen to learn how to ride a bicycle, find an answer to their problem statement or get better at being people managers)

Recognizing that learning is an innate #ability that we never lose, is therefore important, and at the core of NLP Modelling. Learning ability, like any other skill, is about how much we keep it in #practice and hence can be revived any time in our life.?"Sharpen the saw" said Stephen Covey in "7 Habits of Highly Effective People".

Why does learning NLP make a difference?

Individuals are #different and hence, standard training cannot help all individuals enlisted in a program. Trainings can achieve a bare minimum but will invariably miss out the essential component, that is the individual's #uniqueness. In the words of its co-creator Richard Bandler, "NLP is an #attitude and a #methodology that leaves behind a trail of techniques." And the crucial factor here, is that the #techniques can be the ones which the individual himself or herself creates for what works for them, which can be different from the next person in the same program.

That precisely, is the #opportunity of the NLP Foundation Course which I run. I don't impart knowledge to my participants about NLP, but I teach them how to utilize #nlp in different #contexts and situations, as well as with different people and at different places. And in all of that, I pay due respect to the individual's ability to learn!

If you aren't already sufficiently bored or confused, and have stayed on, thank you for your curiosity and attitude to read on and learn a bit more about how NLP works. In particular, if you have made it so far, then I reckon you deeply care about some aspect of society and our surroundings which can be better than what it already is. You probably aren't interested in personal change alone, but also in how change can be created in and around you, perhaps even in a unit as small as your family or team or group of friends.

If you reckon you, or anyone you know, might benefit from learning these skills, I am commencing my next batch of the NLP Foundation Course on Jan.9th. The link to the form is in the comments section below.

#nlpcoaching #nlppractitioner #learning #personalchange #excellence #neuralnetworks #foundation #practice #investinyourself #learninganddevelopment #organisationaldevelopment #leadership #2023goals #2023planning