After giving information about NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) in my article titled “What is NLP? What it contributes to you?”, I would like to go into more detail and make you understand the essence of NLP by explaining the principles and assumptions of NLP in this article.
There are some basic assumptions in NLP and NLP is built on these. Let’s start talking about them in order!
Principles and Assumptions of NLP:
1- The Map Is Not the Territory Itself:
NLP adopts the principle that the world maps, or in other words, the representation of the world in people’s minds, are not the real world and that people react to these world maps.
In other words, each person’s perspective on the world varies depending on all the knowledge, experience, beliefs and emotions he has acquired throughout his life.
And for people, these world maps they create in their minds appear to be correct, and they react to all events according to these world maps. You, too, have often witnessed it around you.
For example, some people react really positively to a decision made in your workplace, while others do not like it at all, or for example, a service provided by a municipality, such as a road, library or park, is considered good by most people while others only find something to criticize.
These are entirely people’s reactions to the world maps they create in their minds.
NLP aims to be aware of our world maps and to show and teach us that they can be changed.
In this way, we can be more constructive and solution-oriented both in our internal communication and in communicating with other people by being aware of their world maps, and we can also bring different perspectives, flexibility and breadth to our world map.
2- Mind and Body are One Single System:
NLP adopts the principle that the mind and body are one single system and that they constantly influence each other. In fact, this is an assumption known by most people but rarely used.
Just as you cannot feel mentally cheerful when you feel pain or discomfort in your body, you cannot do a physical activity when you feel mentally exhausted.
With this principle, NLP teaches you how to instantly change your mental state or physical state so that they affect each other and how you can use it in the best way for yourself.
I will write a separate blog post for this principle and explain by examples how you can develop your best state.
3- We Have the Resources We Need or We Can Reach Them:
NLP recognizes that no human being is incomplete and adopts the principle that that all people have the potential to develop themselves to achieve their goals.
People can – with the techniques I will describe later – put themselves in the state of consciousness they want with the images, sounds and feelings they create in their minds or their physical state and use them to obtain the skills they want in line with their goals.
Moreover, in such a period when access to all this information is very easy, there is no reason for people to feel helpless.
4- The Meaning of Communication is the Reaction We Receive:
NLP adopts the principle that people perceive what is said in communication according to their own mind maps.
While talking to people, you have either heard, said or witnessed sentences such as “I didn’t mean it that way”, “you misunderstood” or “you always misunderstand me”. In fact, it is one of the most important problems of today.
NLP gives people the responsibility of renewing their discourse according to the mind map of the other party and conveying it correctly instead of reacting negatively or insisting on their discourse when they do not get the reaction they expect.
5- There is a Positive Intention Behind Every Behavior:
NLP adopts the principle that even behaviors that are seen as negative, have a positive intention behind them for the person who implements them.
You’ve all seen little kids exhibit sudden negative behaviors such as throwing things, painting on the wall, etc. – which I see much more of these from my son😊 – and you’ve also seen their parents often get angry or even resort to violent without questioning why they are doing it.
However, if you pay attention, you can easily see that children do such negative behaviors when their parents are either on the phone, talking to others or not listening to them.
In fact, children want to attract the attention of their parents or the people they love and to be accepted by them.
NLP teaches how to recognize the positive intention behind such seemingly negative behaviors and how to support this intention with positive behaviors.
6- The More Options We Have, The More Flexible We Are:
NLP adopts the principle that when people make decisions or take actions, they choose the best one for themselves among their current options.
You may have come across people who did something and regretted it even after a short time or said “I wish I had done that” or it has happened to you a lot.
The reason for this is the existence of new options that are realized or encountered later.
NLP teaches ways to increase options so that such situations do not occur and people gain more flexibility.
7- If One Person Can Do Something, Anyone Can Do It by Modeling:
NLP adopts the principle that the same results can be achieved by modeling the behaviors and mental maps of successful people.
If Beethoven, who was deaf, could become the world’s most famous composer, or Frida Kahlo, who was disabled after severe illness and accident, could become one of the world’s most famous painters, anything is possible for other people.
In fact, the importance given to the Prophet’s sunnahs also shows the importance given to modeling in our culture and in Islam.
By encouraging us to do the Prophet’s Sunnah, the religion Islam enables us to model the way he stayed healthy in his life, the way he communicated positively and correctly with other people, and improving the quality of our own lives.
In this way, it makes us more active in taking action for our passions and goals.
NLP says that the only thing that prevents and limits people from taking action is their own mind and beliefs, and teaches how to build and model new belief systems.
8- There Is No Failure, Only Feedback:
NLP adopts the principle that the most effective and only way to learn is by doing, and people’s inability to do what they want in a job, in a behavior or in a communication are not defined as failure, but only as feedback and experience about what they should not do or follow a different path.
In fact, the biggest fear that causes people not to set goals or not to take action even if they set goals, is the fear of “failing” and “feeling inadequate”.
This is because people want to make it perfect by focusing only on the result.
However, for example, you will learn a programming language and you start taking lessons, most of the first codes you write will be buggy or complex, and you will not be able to solve the codes that others wrote in a day, by trying day and night to find errors, in a week. I can write this example comfortably because it happened to me personally😊
When you move forward by learning from the mistakes you made and dedicate yourself only to improvement, after a while you will be surprised at your own development and perhaps you will even exceed your goals.
NLP teaches us how to deal with the fears of “failing” and “feeling inadequate”, how to try different ways depending on the reactions and results we get and how to focus on processes.
9- We Process Information Through Our Senses and Every Experience Has Its Own Unique Structure:
NLP adopts the principle that people process all information through their senses and pass it through a unique filter and that all experiences and thoughts have a unique structure.
If we want to behave differently or break a habit, the structure of our experience will change automatically when we change the mindset we have about it or the meaning we give to it.
There is a phenomenon that Tony Robbins frequently mentions in his seminars:
Meaning (the meaning you give to something) =
Emotion (the emotion that the meaning creates in you) =
Life (the direct impact your life with the action you will take or the reaction you will give as a result of the emotion)
NLP teaches us how to change the meaning we give to events, situations and people and how it can make a positive contribution to our lives.
10- People Work Perfectly:
NLP adopts the principle that every human being can work at their maximum when provided with the right environment and the right options.
The important thing for people is to recognize and change their limiting beliefs, to surround theirselves with the right people, to find their passion and to find the reason that will connect them to their passion.
NLP teaches us how to put ourselves in a state in which we can work at our maximum.
Even though the principles of NLP may seem like general things that are told to you all the time, in fact, when you adopt and visualize them in your mind and really increase your awareness, you can admire their contribution to your communication with yourself, with other people and therefore to your life.
Right now, visualize all the principles in your own mind with different examples and explain them out loud to yourself in your mind and enjoy the beautiful feelings they give you to the fullest!
Be full of energy! Believe in yourself! Live with passion!
Take care of yourself!
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