What is Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)?

There are many different ways of answering this question.

Here I offer mine.

If we take the words themselves, we are given an initial insight into this incredible field:

Neuro – our brain processes and nervous system

Linguistic – the ability of language to impact our thoughts

Programming – the patterns we run that determine our behaviours

So in a nutshell, NLP is the ability to change our patterns of behaviour through the use of language to influence our thoughts.

Language → Thoughts → Behaviour

If we see our brains as a computer, then NLP is your manual, a how to guide or the software that can be used to ‘reprogram’ ourselves when we find we are responding to an issue in an unhelpful or potentially harmful way.

Ultimately, NLP gives us a wonderfully practical way of understanding how we think and behave. This awareness enables us to make changes to our actions and feelings easily and confidently.