nlp tip 18

Jamie Smart’s NLP tip #18

Choose your state, May 6 2003

If you only have 30 seconds, see the summary
at the end of the main text.

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This Week’s Tip

Last week we explored the power of physiology in the ‘chain of excellence’ (respiration à physiology à internal state à high performance.) This week we will be going into state.

I used to play squash on a regular basis and, while some days I wouldn’t be able to do anything right, there were other days when it was as though I was charmed. Each shot would go exactly where I wanted it to, I’d judge the position of my opponent accurately, and move around the court with a sense of effortlessness. Some people think of this as flow, or being ‘in the zone’. I used to put it down to good luck. Now I call it state.

States are configurations of physiology and neurology, body and mind. The following words can be thought of as descriptions of certain states:

- Love
- Happiness
- Confidence
- Sadness
- Joy

- Creativity
- Flow
- Nervousness
- Amusement
- Affection

- Fear
- Focus
- Comfort
- Relaxation
- Trance

Each of these words describes a different experience for each person.

The ability to change your own state at will is a powerful one, and one of the many key skills offered as part of NLP. However, before you deliberately change state, it is good to know where you’re coming from, so…

1) Identify the state you’re currently in. Become aware of any feelings or sensations in your body, any particular muscle tensions or relaxations. Also notice any thoughts, whether pictures, words or other sounds that are in your mind. Accept this as your current state.

Lots of people expend tremendous amounts of energy trying to change their state without becoming aware of where they’re starting from, but if you don’t know where you are, navigation can be tricky. And who knows, where you are may have something to tell you before you leave.

2) Identify the state you want to get into, then use one (or more of the following techniques to access & enter it.

Some people are so focused on their current state that they don’t identify the state they want – when asked how they want to be, they say “Not like this.” But the human nervous system is ‘goal seeking’, ie. your brain wants a direction to go in, so give yourself one. Once you’ve identified the state you want, here are some techniques of getting into it.

3) Think of an occasion when you were in that state. See what you saw then (looking out through your own eyes), hear what you heard and feel what you felt. As you feel the sensations increase in intensity, squeeze the thumb & forefinger of your left hand gently together for a few moments, then release them. Now ‘break your state’ (Eg. by remembering what you had for lunch yesterday.) Squeeze your thumb & forefinger together again, gently pulsing them. The state will return.

(The ‘squeeze the thumb & forefinger’ thing is called anchoring, and is covered in more depth in Tip #10))

4) Ask yourself “What am I like when I’m [name of state]?” (Eg. what am I like when I’m really focused?

Some people access so quickly that ‘step by step’ techniques are too slow. For those people, often a simple questions like the one above allows them to access the experience.

5) Make a picture in your mind’s eye of a you that is experiencing the state you wish to experience. When you can see that that you is really in state, imagine stepping into that you, and have their experience.

More advanced

Make a list of states that you would like to be in more often. Then start practicing. Using the above techniques, and anything else that works for you, practice getting into those states then anchor them. Have lots of fun firing your anchors and using those states in situations where you want them.

Summary

2) Identify the state you want to get into, then use one (or more of the following techniques to access & enter it.

4) Ask yourself “What am I like when I’m [name of state]?” (Eg. what am I like when I’m really focused?

Next time

Your ability to influence your own state is, for many people, cataclysmic. Enjoy finding out how much fun you can have as you take new states into situations where you & others can benefit from them J

best wishes,

jamie

PS. I am always keen to have feedback from the people who read my tips. What is working well for you? What have you had trouble with? Let me know how this stuff is helping.

jamie smart

director

info@saladltd.co.uk

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