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The Emergence of Wisdom

From our own experience we know some people are wiser than others. Also that a few organizations show wisdom in the systems they put in place and the way they work.

Some people are experts but that doesn’t make them wise. Wisdom is not the same as expertise or even mastery.

Wisdom is forged in the crucible of experience – and what we make of our experience. It gives us some understanding of what it means to be alive and what matters. It sees the bigger picture.
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The Five Steps

The 5 Steps to successful NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS AND GOAL SETTING

1. GET CLEAR ABOUT PRECISELY WHAT YOU WANT - NOT WHAT YOU DON’T WANT.

   Many people set New Year Resolutions such as “I don’t want to be so fat” or “I don’t want to smoke anymore.” But these resolutions are focusing on what you don’t want - not what you do want. If someone says to you “Don’t think of a red aeroplane” you have to imagine a red plane for your brain to process the idea. So a resolution such as “I want to stop eating chocolate” simply leads you back to the thought of chocolate. Your resolution should be stated in the positive: eg “I want to improve my health by eating fruit when I’m hungry and jogging for half an hour, three times a week.”

   How to tips: Start thinking in terms of what you want, not what you don’t want. This is step one in taking control of your brain. Learning how to formulate what you’re going for is vital.

2. BE SPECIFIC - NOT VAGUE

   “I want to be thinner” may be a great idea but it is somewhat vague for a great New Year Resolution. If you were to set this as a resolution, and then lost half a pound, your brain may feel that you have achieved your goal - and it could then propel you back to the chocolate! You need to be as clear and specific as possible. If necessary, also give yourself clear deadlines. “I want to weigh 11 stone by 1 May” is a very specific goal and gives your brain clear instructions.

   How to tips: Being specific is a learnable skill. Too often we’re less than clear with ourselves and others. The result is frequently disappointment or bad feeling. The set of NLP tools known as the ‘Meta Model’ can change all this very quickly and easily. For Business applications, see chapter four of Practical NLP for Managers

How to turn Setbacks into Success

Ian McDermott on transforming setbacks and failure into success and achievement

In these turbulent times many people are experiencing setbacks. This month and next I want to share with you success secrets for dealing with setbacks. Each requires you to do something so I've presented them with clear action headings. Think of these as life strategies.

1. Turn the Setback into Feedback
   
   In NLP there's an old saying that there's no such thing as failure only feedback. It's important to realise that a setback is just feedback. One of the most obvious kinds of setback is when something changes and you know you've got to do something different. But it's worth being clear about the kind of feedback such a setback is offering.
   
   Sometimes the feedback is coming from outside - the world has changed and you need to change too. An example, would be when you learn that a company is downsizing. You haven't done anything differently but the world is different and that is having an impact on you. Other times, the feedback is the result of something that you have done which has produced a change - you have an affair and your partner decides to leave.
   
   However people don't have to have done anything different to create setbacks. They may have just done the same thing as usual, and they've done that so many times, that now there is a change that was unanticipated. For instance they've smoked the same number of cigarettes every day and eventually they fi nd they have some kind of serious illness - that's feedback too.
   
   If you regard any setback as just feedback, it can begin to tell you what you need to do next. When you learn that your behaviour has had one effect and you know that is not what you were seeking to achieve, it tells you that your behaviour needs to change. So you can begin thinking, ‘how might my behaviour best change?' However, you can only do that if you see the setback as just feedback - not as proof of your failure and essential worthlessness!
   
   Feedback is not the same as failure and if you make that distinction you already start to change your internal state, that is to say the way you are inside. And the way you feel on the inside has an enormous impact on how you will handle any setback

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Ten Essential Strategies for Turning Vision Into Action

by Ian McDermott

1. Start being who you really are

   Those rare individuals who create lives which are the embodiment of their dreams and visions are at home in themselves and on the planet. At the times when you are turning your Vision into Action, you will be ‘being you.’ So by contrast, it can be really useful to look at the times when you are not ‘being you’ to be clear about when this is happening and how you are selling yourself short.

   You can then use the tools of NLP and the skills of Coaching to make any changes in these areas that will make the journey from Vision into Action, easier, faster and more rewarding.



2. Decide how much your Vision matters

   Turning your Vision into Action should not be a struggle. There may be obstacles to overcome. (See 8. ‘Decide - Are You Willing to Pay the Price’). But those who achieve are driven by a strong desire to take Action. The strength of this desire is directly related to how much your Vision matters to you. To put it another way, if your Vision does not matter deeply to you, is it any surprise to find yourself un-motivated to take the Action?

   So if taking Action is a problem for you, you may want to go back and check the Vision. Maybe the Vision requires fine tuning. Perhaps it’s time for a new Vision. Either way, a Vision that matters deeply to you is a pre-requisite for significant Action.

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A Trainer's Journey

You could say that I'm in the change business. I do a lot of demonstrations in my trainings so that people can see how change really happens.

I've often had people who are trainers or presenters from other fields ask me quietly after such a demonstration "How did you know that what you were doing was going to work?" The first time this happened I was completely floored. I really didn't know how to respond. Actually, I didn't know that what I was doing would magically produce the desired result. However, I was absolutely confident that whatever happened I would be able to respond in a way that would take us forward. That was enough to enable me to be free to explore with the person I was working with how they created their experience and how they could change it in a way that would be better for them. For me, this is an important confidence both in my own expertise but also in the process that I am part of.

I once had some advanced students that were engaged in a modelling class with me and they got to ask me questions about what I do and how I do it. One of them said "Assuming someone has learnt the techniques you've taught us, what would be your one piece of advice?" I heard myself say "My advice would be to get out of the way and let the client do what they know how to do - with your help." Too often people are busy trying to get others to do what they think they should do. It's so much easier if you can go with them so they do it in their own way. Often, the way they do this is far more creative than anything I could have come up with.

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