It’s been said that the most painless way to learn is from other people’s mistakes, so I thought I’d share some of mine with you. In this series, I’m going to share some of the things that challenge me, and how I deal with them. In this article, I’m going to tell you about one of the traps I still fall into from time to time, & how to escape from it!

You probably already know that we recently launched our NLP Belief-buster cards, a set of powerful patterns for conversational belief-change using “Sleight of mouth”. What you probably didn’t realise is that I’ve wanted to create a deck of Sleight of Mouth cards for at least the past 3 years, & hadn’t been doing it.

Why not?

Because I couldn’t quite figure out the “right” way to do it.

I spent time trying to figure out the way forward, & told myself that once I’d sorted out how to organise it etc, then I’d make it happen, but I never seemed to be at a point where I could start writing.

What I didn’t realise is that this is my preferred flavour of procrastination, basically taking the form “When I get clear on exactly how I’m going to do this (ie. When I have a good enough plan) then I’ll get started”.

Unfortunately, the more I tried to figure out how I was going to do it, the more I didn’t get started!

Then one day, I suddenly remembered (for the umpteenth time) that the best place for me to discover “how” is by taking action.

You can discover “how” by taking action

As it turns out, the only way I ever write a deck of cards is by… writing them! So I started writing the sleight of mouth cards, & the deck started taking shape before my eyes. It turns out that there were problems to be solved & things I had to figure out how to accomplish, but I discovered how while in the process of doing it.

1) Identify something you’ve been wanting to do, create or
    accomplish, but have been putting off making a start (or have
    paused).

Here are some examples:

• Starting your own business
• Getting fit
• Creating a product
• Writing a book
• Finding a partner

2) Discover the story you’ve been telling yourself in order not to
    take action.

Here are some examples:

• I don’t know how to do it
• I just need to work on this plan a bit more
• I don’t know enough / have enough skill
• I’m not good enough
• I’m afraid of screwing up & looking / feeling stupid

Chances are, you have a “preferred method” for avoiding taking action. In my case it’s the “I just need to work on this plan a bit more” story. The bad news is that this has tripped me up more times than I care to mention. The good news is that having identified this as my “preferred method”, I’m wise to it. It still catches me from time to time, but not for nearly as long as it used to (except when it does).

3) Ask yourself what would happen if you started taking action
    anyway?

While I wouldn’t want someone performing brain surgery on me if the didn’t have enough skill, the reality is that most things people aspire to don’t have the same life or death consequences. In fact, in most cases, the process of learning is supported & enhanced by taking action. Why? Because we learn by doing. In fact…

You can learn things by taking action that you can’t learn any other way

When you take action, you’re interacting directly with the environment, & receiving input at a conscious and an unconscious level. Whenever you take action, you’re learning, & when you’re taking action on something new, you’re learning at a very high level.

There are things I figured out within hours of starting to write the NLP Belief Buster cards that I hadn’t been able to sort out in years of planning.

4) What’s an action you can take within the next 24 hours to
    move you closer to your goal?

Even a tiny step in the direction you want to go moves you a little bit closer. In fact, the most extraordinary & seemingly complex accomplishments have been built upon countless tiny steps.

And the great thing about steps is that you only need to take one at a time!

By the way, if you want to take action to continue your developing mastery of NLP, it’s worth listening to the NLP Monthly Mastery Series. Every month, I interview one of the world’s best NLP people, getting into the nitty-gritty of developing skills & putting them into practice while you do what you love. If you haven't already signed up for the NLP Monthly Mastery Series, you can get your first month free when you get your hands on a deck of our new NLP Belief Buster cards at the special-offer price of £15.97 (your first interview is an awesome discussion I had with Judy Delozier, one of the original co-developers of NLP). 

Get your NLP Belief-buster cards & your free trial subscription to the NLP Monthly Mastery Series here

Have a great week

To your success!

Your friend

Jamie

Jamie Smart

Jamie Smart
CEO
jamie.smart@saladltd.co.uk

jamie.smart@saladltd.co.uk