NLP

Fine-tune your sensory acuity and observe what you think and feel in different circumstances.

Focus on your outcomes

Some people have a vague idea of what they want. Some just drift. However, to get results in business, whether day-to-day or over a 10-year period or more, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. In NLP, the term ‘outcome’ is often used for what you define as the positive consequences of your actions. ‘Outcomes’ are more than just about setting yourself some goals, they are about understanding what it takes to achieve them.

2.1 Have well-formed visions

What results do you want? Do you have a clear picture in your head of what you want to achieve? Or are you someone who has a confused picture that keeps changing, or a picture of what you don’t want, or barely any picture at all, just vague ideas? Which vision will achieve most?

People often wonder why they aren’t successful. The real question is, are they successful in getting the result they really want or a result they hadn’t planned and don’t like?

The outcome you want can only happen when you have a well-formed vision of it. Once you’ve got a clear picture you’ll be able to take the necessary steps to achieve it.

This is how to do it. Think of something you want to have, to be or to do in your life. Now ask these questions:

1 Is it positive? Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. (Otherwise, your internal picture will be of what you want to avoid and ironically that’s probably what you’ll end up with).

“If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it’s moving you away from your goals” Brian Tracy, performance coach

2 Is it specific? The more specific it is, the easier it’ll be to focus on and you’ll find it easier to know when you are near or far away from your goal.

3 What is my evidence? How will I know when I have it? What will it look like? What will it feel like? If you don’t have evidence you won’t know when you have achieved your result.

4 Who is in charge of this outcome? The answer has to be you, because an outcome dependent on others isn’t achievable by you.

5 Is this good for you? Will getting this result be good for you and your world as a whole? Consider the effect on you, others around you and your life.

6 What resources do you have and need? Consider where you are in relation to your desired outcome. What do you have available to achieve this and what do you need to acquire?

Make sure that you build clear pictures in your mind of what you want to achieve.

2.2 Don’t just try…DO it

“That’s a great idea. I’ll really try to take it on board.” “I will try to meet you at 3pm. I know I didn’t make the meeting last time but I will really make sure I try to get there in time for it today.” “I am trying you know. I am really, really trying.”

• ‘Trying’ means two things. In English the word ‘trying’ has two meanings: to attempt to do something, or to be a little upsetting, difficult or annoying.

Well, people who are always trying to do things can end up being extremely annoying to everyone else (and often themselves as well by the way). This is because they tend to let people down.

one minute wonder If you have any doubts about whether you really want the goals you are seeking, ask these questions: What will happen when you have it? What will happen if you don’t have it? What won’t happen when you have it? What won’t happen if you don’t have it? What are the benefits of not having it? What are the drawbacks of having it?

“Action is the foundational key to all success” Pablo Picasso, pioneering modern artist

• ‘Try’ often implies failure. There is a big difference between saying “I will get to the meeting by 3pm” and “I will try to get to the meeting by 3pm”. Somehow we all know that the first person will only fail to get to the meeting under exceptional circumstances, but the second person will probably turn up late or perhaps not even make it at all.

There’s also a big difference between saying “I will try to achieve what I have set out in my well-formed outcome in this area of my life” and “I will just do it. I will do what it takes to achieve this result. Maybe I am not clear exactly how I will do it yet but I will learn as I go along.”

• Back to cause and effect. Are you going to try to take responsibility for the results you get? Or are you going to take responsibility for the results you get? Are you going to try to lose weight…again? Or are you going to lose weight? Are you going to try to get a good relationship with your boss and grumble when you don’t, or are you going to achieve that good relationship?

When you stop trying, that’s when you really do start using whatever happens to you as feedback and take infinitely flexible actions to achieve your well-formed vision of success.

‘Trying’ implies failure, so leave out this word when defining your business goals.

2.3 Commit and take action

Lots of people want things. They want to have more success. They want to have more possessions. They want to have less stress. They want to have happier days, a bigger business, less debt, more money, more skills…The list goes on and on.

But a want is just a want. A want is meaningless in terms of achievement if you don’t first turn it into a specific goal – or projected outcome – and then take action to get it.

• What are you going to begin with right now to get what you want?

Your well-formed goals all need to start with a first step that turns into a second step and a third and a fourth and so on until you achieve what you set out to achieve.

This doesn’t mean that you have to know everything you are going to do to get the result you want. It’s more important that you know what you want first – your desired outcome – and then decide that you’re going to do whatever it takes to get it.

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes…but no plans”

Peter Drucker, business strategist

So there are two parts to this secret to success to remember.

• Firstly, to take action.

• Secondly, to commit 100% to the action.

It’s no point doing something half-heartedly; you’ll be back to ‘trying’, and you know how ‘trying’ that will be for you and other people.

Focus on your well-formed vision of outcome, take responsibility for the effect you wish to cause and take an action towards it. If you get a block on the way, take this as feedback and carry on taking action. Commit to your wanted outcome until you achieve the success you intended. This is what all people who achieve excellence do.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t adapt your vision of the outcome, of course. If your feedback gives you cause to think that you would prefer to achieve a different outcome, then change your goal. Take your new vision of outcome through the same set of questions as before and take a new first step. However, the principle remains the same. Whatever your projected outcome is, commit to it and the actions you take to achieve it. Do that and you will get the success and excellent results you want to achieve.

Take action to start achieving your goals from the moment you define them and keep moving forwards.

2.4 Break old habits

How much are you a creature of habit? Do you ever do different things, learn new skills, take on new work responsibilities? How often do you think differently? How curious are you? How experimental are you? If you do what you have always done you will get the same results you have always got.

Having an attitude of curiosity and experimentation can lead you to new, successful and exciting results in your life.

• People who are curious tend to ask lots of questions. Perhaps they want to know what works, what could be different, how to create change, how other people do things. The more curious you become the better. Cultivate an attitude of curiosity. Consider how you do

one minute wonder Ditch your assumptions. We often pre-judge situations or people in advance. We don’t bother to start things because we think we know exactly what result we are going to get in advance. Change your attitude, on the other hand, and you could change your life.

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped”

Tony Robbins, self-help writer

things, for example, and how you could do things more effectively in future. What can you learn from other people?

• The founders of NLP had this attitude. Richard Bandler and John Grinder wanted to know why certain people were more effective than other people, so they asked questions to find out. Their answers provided the thinking and techniques of NLP. What would happen if you asked questions about the world around you? Or what could you discover about your internal world?

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