NLP is short for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and it encompasses the three main components of the human experience, which are neurology, language, and programming. It helps describe the dynamics between these components and how they work together to affect your body, brain, and behavior. These techniques are used to navigate these components. To find out more about NLP techniques and learn ones that will transform your life for the better, read on further.
1. Anchoring
This is one of the most common yet effective NLP techniques, used for inducing a specific mind frame or specific emotion (like relaxation or happiness). Anchoring typically involves a gesture, touch, or word that is used as a type of “bookmark.” This bookmark allows you to recall that emotion again by using the anchor.
To recall a feeling of happiness for example, try to remember a moment of happiness in your life. Describe to yourself how that moment felt, what happened, etc. Create a picture of that moment in your mind and use that picture to visualize both the moment and feeling growing larger. This feeling can become your anchor and a moment in time to recall for a particular emotion.
2. Dissociation
It is easy to feel negative emotions and for some people, negativity is more easily felt than positivity. Dissociation works to diffuse negative feelings when you are in certain situations; restoring both your positive emotions and ability to be objective.
To use dissociation, simply identify the negative emotion you wish to get rid of. Then imagine the situation in which that feeling emerged. Try to visualize that moment and observe it from an outsider’s prospective rather than your own (like a movie). Play this moment backwards and forwards in your mind, and even try adding in a funny soundtrack. After replaying this moment a few times, your negative feelings about the situation should change.
3. Undermine a Critical Voice
Each person hears critical things their whole life, whether it’s in school, the workplace, at home, or even in their own head. Your inner voice can be especially critical and leave you feeling negative, insecure, and unworthy. It can be hard to silence this criticism you have of yourself, but this NLP technique can help.
The next time you hear your inner voice being critical or telling you that you cannot do it, try imagining that voice sounding differently. Image that that critical voice sounds silly, like a cartoon character for example. If your critical voice no longer sounds like a real person, it is easier for you to ignore or silence.
4. Reframing
Reframing is one of the best NLP techniques when you need to feel empowered. You should use this technique when you are feeling angry, helpless, or powerless. It is meant to change the meaning of a bad experience, by looking at it from a different prospective. Reframing takes the focus away from the negative elements of a situation.
If you have recently experienced a relationship break-up for example, try not to focus on the negative. Instead, you could focus in what the positive outcomes of the situation would be. For instance, the break-up could now mean that you are now able to focus on better relationships, you have more freedom, or that you have learned invaluable lessons from the relationship. This helps you focus on the positive and not be consumed by negativity.
5. Moving Images
NLP techniques like moving images helps you understand how people and experiences affect you and your emotions. It helps you manipulate and change feelings to enhance positive ones and decrease negative ones.
To practice this technique, you should imagine a picture of someone or something that puts you in a negative state. Once you are concentrating on this image, try to make the image smaller and imagine it moving away from you. Now imagine a picture of something that makes you feel happy or good and make it bigger; moving it closer to you. This can help you move away from negativity and easily accept positive emotions.
6. Affirmations
Affirmations can be an extremely strong tool in NLP. They are a combination of commitment, belief, and mission statements that can be very motivational and can refocus you. Affirmations are very personal, but there a few basic steps to help you create some.
First, try setting a direction instead of a goal. This direction should not be performance-based; rather it should be a “learning” direction. Fine tune your affirmation to make it exciting and motivational to you and focus on something you already believe.
7. Belief Changing
Each person has their own beliefs for every situation that have been created by your previous experiences. Beliefs can become limiting and those beliefs can become negative and stifling. It is important to change your limited beliefs, which creates better, positive experiences.
Say you believe that all politicians are all “bad,” for example. This belief leads you to be negative about a situation or experience, before even entering it. To change these limited beliefs, you should strive to be objective. Do research on positive politicians, reflect on good politicians of the past, or speak to people about their positive experiences. This will help you reshape your thought-process.
8. Squaring Brilliance
This NLP technique can be used alongside anchoring. Some people have an easier experience with anchoring, while others prefer the “brilliance squared” method. The goal for both is similar, with each striving to provide you with a particular emotion that can be recalled with an image or action.
Try thinking of the emotion you would like to feel, like happiness. Now imagine that a colored square is in front of you with a color that you naturally associate with the feeling. Imagine yourself standing inside the square, filled with that color (or emotion), and feel the color spread all over you. After practicing this a few times, you can recall this colored square and “step into it” every time you wish to feel that emotion.
Final Thoughts
The NLP techniques you have seen here today will help you take control of your mind and your life. These techniques help you focus on how to alter your state of being to your benefit and lead an overall healthier life. Try a few of these techniques and let us know: which one is your favorite?
