NLP Tip: The Secret of Creating Your Future – Jamie Smart
publication date: Jul 24, 2008
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author/source: Jamie Smart - www.saladltd.co.uk
by Jamie Smart
I recently spent a day with the board of directors of a successful service company, who wanted to figure out how to take their business to the 'next level'. Four and a half years previously, I'd spent a day with them for the same purpose. As a result of that meeting (and substantial effort all round) they'd managed to quadruple their turnover and handsomely increase profits. Now they'd invited me back to repeat the process. And what was the secret to this big jump in business? The same thing that makes the difference whenever someone accomplishes something that seems like a big step: The secret is vision.
Vision is a powerful key in every area of life, including:
- Health
- Finances
- Relationships
- Business
- Work
- Learning and Development
- Leisure, fun and adventure
- Etc
We Become What We Think About - What You Focus On Increases
Whatever we focus our attention on (over time) will tend to increase in our experience. You can tell where someone's been putting their attention by looking at what's been showing up in their life.
Whatever we focus our attention on (over time) will tend to increase in our experience. You can tell where someone's been putting their attention by looking at what's been showing up in their life.
1) Think of someone you know who’s had an ongoing life issue they're not happy about (Eg. Debt, weight, smoking, overwork). Whatever their issue is, that's what they've been focusing on.
- A person who's overweight has been focusing on food, weight and/or lack of exercise.
- A person who's in debt has been focusing on lack
- A person who's a smoker has been focusing on smoking
What do I mean by focus? The combination of attention and emotion. In the case of the negative examples above, the emotion is typically worry, anxiety or fear of some sort. This is not a matter of “good” or “bad” - it's merely how the mind and body work.
If you want to change the results you're getting, change what you've been focusing on. One of the most powerful and compelling ways to do this is to create a vision (a vision for your business, or a vision for your health, or a vision for your entire life).
- How did the Wright brothers manage to invent the first airplane?
- How did Bill Gates manage to create Microsoft?
- How did Abraham Lincoln manage to abolish slavery in the USA?
Vision. They all had vision.
Of course, these are all remarkable achievements that were important to the individuals involved. Whatever's important to each one of us is a matter for our own personal vision.
- How do you want your health to be?
- What sort of relationships do you want to have?
- What do you want your financial situation to be?
- How do you want to spend your time?
2) Consider a major area of your life (eg. Health, wealth, personal development, work, leisure, relationships etc). Ask yourself “How would I like this aspect of my life to be?” If you don't know, guess. Make sure to state your answers in the positive (ie. “I want to be wealthy” rather than “I don't want to be poor”).
The “miracle question” is a great way of getting answers to this - just ask yourself:
“If there was a miracle tonight, and when you woke up tomorrow, everything [in this area of your life/work/business] was exactly as you'd like it to be, how would you know a miracle had occurred? What would you see, hear, feel and believe that would let you know it had happened?”
This is really powerful when someone doesn't know what they want, or is having trouble imagining a problem being solved. The idea of the miracle frees the mind to go beyond its previously-held limitations.
3) Write down the answers to these questions, and consider them as often as possible.
What you focus on increases, and when you consider your goals and visions regularly, it gets impressed upon your unconscious mind. When you're thinking about how you want things to be, focus with an emotion you enjoy, such as happiness, gratitude, peace etc.
When you focus on your vision regularly, and start taking action towards it, you'll be amazed at the progress you make!