Empowering life strategies.

Did you know that we all have neurologically programmed strategies for everything that we do?  These are particular patterns of thoughts and behaviours that produce particular (or predictable) results.  The question is - are you happy with your current results?  Do your current strategies empower or disempower you?

The other day I was relaying a story about when I was doing my NLP (Neuro Lingusitic Programming) training.  It was a session to learn how to elicit someone’ decision-making strategy.  My task was to sell my pen to another course participant.  My partner turned out to be a discerning, analytical, medical specialist.  Hmmm. This was going to be interesting.  How could I possibly entice this person to want my plain, old, ordinary, bic biro????

The first step was to determine his decision-making strategy for purchasing.  I did this by asking specific questions and by tracking his language patterns and the location and sequence of his eye movements as he responded. Once I felt confident that I had determined his current decision making strategy for purchasing, the next step was to entice him to buy my pen.  Firstly this was to be done by presenting an offer for him to purchase my pen in the opposite pattern to the elicited pattern.  When I did this it felt like we were from different planets and that there was absolutely no connection or understanding between us. On the second attempt I presented the pen to him in the exact same sequence to the original pattern that I had tracked.  Wow, what a difference!  He asked -Can I hold the pen?  At the end he really wanted my boring, old, blue bic biro!

What does this mean?  This means that if we present things in a way that matches the other person’s strategy we can communicate much more effectively with them.  Basically, we are stepping into their moccasins.  This also means that if someone wants to change a disempowering behaviour they can install a new strategy. For example, someone who is moving deeper and deeper into debt because of a faulty buying strategy may need to add a step into his current pattern to analyse whether he really needs to make the purchase.

A penny dropped for me when I learnt about the Love strategy.  There are three different ways that people associate feeling loved. One is visual. It feels like they are totally loved when they are shown with actions, like being taken out to dinner and bought things.  Other people feel totally loved when they are told so or when they hear a certain tone of voice (auditory).  Meanwhile, others feel loved when they are hugged or held tight (kinesthetic).  I have come to understand that my daughter has a visual strategy and don’t our wallets know it. $$$$$.

Once again, this highlights the importance of using the other person’s strategy which may not be the same as your own.  Furthermore, it is important to know how you feel loved, and to share this information with your loved ones.

We have neurologically programmed strategies for getting up in the morning, being late, being punctual, feeling confident, feeling depressed, for learning, and for sex. If you think about it what are the strategies that naturally thin people use?  They do things like: eating at regular times; they make good choices about what they eat; and they generally keep active and exercise.  How empowering are the current strategies that you are using?

Jane Buxton
Performance & Development Coach, NLP Practitioner, B. Psych.
M: 0403 056 241

Well the mercury has dropped and the colds and flu’s are getting around work, school and home. You body is constantly bombarded with viruses on a daily basis and your last line of defense against them is your immune system. So to give yourself the best chance of avoiding illness this winter here are 5 ways to boost your immune system.

1. Eat Well
Proper nutrition is an essential part of keeping your immune system running well. Consuming foods rich in vitamins and minerals is most important. Vitamin C helps to reduce severity and duration of colds and vitamin E has been shown to boost T-cell function which has important immune response implications. Other foods/nutrients that have been linked to improved immune function are garlic, zinc, ginger and echinachia. A varied diet with a high fruit, salad and vegetable component should cover your bases for these nutrients. Ask your EP for advice on the nutrient content of your diet.
2. Visit the Doc
There is still a chance that a flu vaccination will result in your body catching a minor strain of the influenza virus. However most studies indicate the vaccination is 70-90% effective in healthy people under the age of 65
3. Chill Out
Stress can make you physically sick. When under stress your body releases a variety of hormones that have a negative effect on your immune system. You can become more susceptible to viruses and take longer to recover from common colds. The best thing to do when sick is to rest and reduce the stress on your body as much as possible. This means lightening exercise loads and getting plenty of sleep. Regular massages and acupuncture can help a great deal. Ask reception or your EP for more info on the therapists upstairs at Essents.
4. Avoid Sick people like the plague
Remember this for when you are sick or have the flu - No one likes being near sick people, not even your boss. This is a battle you need to fight yourself so stay at home and don’t risk infecting the whole office. And for all you workaholics out there, if things are urgent and can’t possibly wait another second then try to work from home, your colleagues will thank you for it.
5. Get Regular Exercise
Countless studies have shown regular exercise helps boost your immune system. I mentioned in point 3 that when sick you have to lighten your exercise loads and that is due to the fact that higher intensity exercise lasting 90minutes or more can actually dull your immune response. Consider this when you are at the gym or pounding the pavement that after 90 minutes you could be doing yourself more harm than good. The key to healthy immunity through exercise is small, regular sessions of varying intensities.

Best of luck with staying healthy this winter. Practice these points and you will be giving yourself a fighting chance.

- by Alister Murray