Mahatma Gandhi once said:

“The power to question is the basis of all human progress.”

However we live in an age where, for the most part self-inquiry and questioning is rarely sought.

24×7 TV, Internet and Social Media keeps your brain “cache” bursting and little time is left for genuine self-reflective thought.

To ask important questions like:

* What is truly important?

* What is essential for a well lived life?

* How can I make the most of my skills and abilities? (to help others – if that is what you want)

And several others.

As students of NLP, the ability to ask good questions to penetrate deeper below the everyday noise is a key skill for genuine happiness and contentment.

When you do this – you notice how mass trance inductions are going on, 24×7 everywhere you turn.

It isn’t the case that trance is the exception – IMHO, trance is the rule. Mass unconsciousness is the norm.

Maybe this is what Einstein meant when he said:

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

Technology and ‘always on connectedness’ has brought many benefits but with it comes many unintended consequences.

The same is true for personal development.

Rather than stop and reflect inwards, the industry for the most part is built around seeking answers outside yourself.

Don’t know what to do with your life?

Ask a guru.

Aren’t making as much money as you want?

Ask a guru.

Frustrated with your life?

Attend this live 3 day training (with the inference that happiness is just so many Pounds, Dollars or Euros away.)

Genuine experts can help, but happiness is and always has been an inside job.

It’s self-initiated. When it’s present, it is maintained and generated by you.

You can be your own Guru.

Be Your Own Guru – Challenge The Presumed Thinking

In the past three decades there has been no shortage of best-selling reasons why you haven’t got what you want.

They also sound sorta plausible. That’s how they catch on. Along with repetition, intensity and mass media.

My Top Six (made up) Reasons Why You Don’t Have What You Want:

1. You are putting the wrong energy out into the Universe. I.E. you are not aligned with ‘The Secret’ and so can’t get what you want.

2. You are not being your authentic self

3. You are suffering from conflicting values

4. You are not living in the now

5. You have parts that are conflict

6. Your self-image is incongruent with your desires

If you’ve been around personal development for some years you’ve heard some or all of those reasons before.

Perhaps you even believe them about you.

What is the reason you believe you don’t have what you want? (Assuming this applies to you)

Whatever answer you give it’s almost certainly bound inside some form of story.

And that story, just like the six reasons above are a presumed hypothesis as to why you don’t have what you want.

They may or may not serve you.

One thing is certain, believing them has consequences.

For many people, it’s another reason they feel frustrated or bad about themselves.

Maybe you’ve wondered before:

“What is wrong with me?” or

“Why can’t I [fill in the blank]?”

Presumed Problem(s) Vs. The NLP Approach

NLP takes a different angle.

It presumes that:

* You work perfectly.

* That all human behaviour is purposive or adaptive within some context (even if you can’t detect it or not)

* That every behaviour (even those annoying habits that keep you stuck) has utility and usefulness in some context.

It’s focused on a reality based approach. Rather than assuming you are flawed. It starts from the worldview that you make the best choices you can.

That we don’t respond to reality but according to our maps and models.

And those maps (and the beliefs you hold) have consequences.

Both intended and unintended ones.

Rather than accepting the status-quo, by using the toolset of NLP such as the Meta Model and Framing tool you can begin to unpack and bust up generalisations (which is what beliefs are) that don’t serve you.

To find out more how to do this… Master The Meta Model

Share this article: