Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a psychological approach that explores the connections between neurological processes (neuro-), language (linguistic), and behavioural patterns learned through experience (programming).

It is used for personal development because accesses those patterns of connection and influences them by changing and reprogramming our subconscious mind through conscious behavior.

All our experiences are processed through our senses (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, gustatory) and central nervous systems. Once we recognize the sensory input as smell or touch we send signals to our brain to process that information and shape our reality.

The meaning that we give to our perception is subjective.

We respond to our map or reality, not the reality itself, which means that we can change the way we look at reality by changing our perception of it.

This is because we perceive reality through our senses and analyze it depending on our system of belief and our personality. Therefore once we change the way we look at those perceptions we can change our system of belief. 

Language is a powerful tool that strongly influences our thoughts and behaviour. Our voice emits a sound that creates a vibration and being aware of our language patterns, we can change negative or limiting beliefs into a more positive and empowering one.

The programme of NLP is based on the fact that since we were born we have been programmed into behavioural models and personality traits from all the influences around and inside us. We know that we are a result of specific patterns or programs therefore once we can identify and modify those we can improve our well-being and our lives. 

The following exercises and techniques of NLP can help you to identify limiting and negative beliefs and behaviour, and therefore overcome them. This can help you manage emotions and reduce stress, allowing you to respond more positively to challenging situations. Helps people to overcome anxiety, phobias and other psychological issues by reprogramming thought patterns. 

Below I will describe some of the most known techniques of NLP, so you might find what works best for you and implement it in your life. 

Swish Pattern

This technique is designed to help people change unwanted habits or behaviour, by replacing negative or limiting images to the vision that you want to be on the other side of the problem. 

The first step is always to be aware of the dysfunctional habit and be able to identify those triggers, and therefore those cues that make you aware of the problem.

Then be aware of the negative image that your brain produces like the stress or the anger derived from this problem etc. For example, if you want to lose weight, usually your image must be like seeing you overweight, uncomfortable and lazy. Now we have to attach a submodality to it, and therefore a visual or auditory effect to it, using our senses, like imagine that this image of you overweight will shrink or become black, attach a bad sound or sentence to it.

Once you have this negative image in detail stop and create a new and desired image of how you would prefer to be instead, like seeing yourself going to the gym, fit and with the desired weight. Attach a new submodality to it like a brighter image or a triounf sound.

The next step is to imagine how the new positive image becomes bigger and brighter and starts to move over a corner of the negative black image until disappears and you will remain only with the positive one.

Repeat this a few times until you attache feeling to it, until you start to feel something is changing in you, remember repetition is key.

Intensify those states of positive emotions and empower yourself with those thoughts and feelings. Every time that you come back into that negative thinking replace those images in your mind with a more positive and desired one. This will automatically let your brain focus on what you really want and work to achieve it.

Anchoring

This tool creates and triggers specific emotional or physiological states through a particular stimulus, such as a gesture, touch, or sound.

This is based on the principle of classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus is associated with an emotional or physical response.

The first step is to relax and imagine the positive emotional or psychological state you want to anchor, imagine it in full detail, feel what you want to feel, see what you want to see, what is the smell, what is the sound. Once you are in that high emotional state attach an anchor.

Choose your unique but simple anchor, between Visual (images, symbols), Auditory (sounds, words, mantra) and Kinesthetic (physical touches, gesture) like a physical action (snap of a finger, or touching thumb and forefinger together).

Now apply the anchor, feel the wanted feeling or thoughts at its peak then connect to the anchor the physical action or the visual cue. Repeat this process various times reinforcing the connection between the stimulus and the desired state, but don’t forget to take breaks in the meantime.

These tools can help to rapidly change the emotional or psychological state, can be used in every situation, and can help to regulate and manage emotions.