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Too much effort for not enough result?

Ambitious people know that it’s up to them to drive for the results they want in work and in life generally. If the results aren’t as good as expected then you simply try harder. This is the usual way for many highly ambitious people, and it works – some of the time.

When things don’t go according to plan, regardless of the increased effort you put in, then what?

It can become frustrating when the result you want is really important, yet you make no progress. It can feel like there’s a huge barrier getting in your way. The more you try, the more frustrated you become.

This frustration is a signal that you need a different approach. Perhaps a better strategy, or alternative style of communication. The problem with frustration is that it can fix your mind too rigidly on the details, when what would be more useful is to stand back, relax, and focus on the overall process. Sometimes it is better to let go of the urgency and frustration in the situation so that you can use your imagination to figure out an alternative approach.

But the imagination doesn’t work well under stress, which is precisely what frustration creates. When you relax and rise above the detail you will be able to map out, in your mind, the cause/effect patterns that are creating the barrier to your success.

Taking an alternative perspective in this way allows you to understand your situation better. You become more aware of your own thinking and behaviour, and how others may be perceiving you. Armed with this fresh perspective you can adapt your approach accordingly.

It sounds simple doesn’t it? Yet it’s surprising how many ambitious people keep trying the same things and hoping for a different result. When you hit a barrier there is no point in repeating the same approach – you need an alternative. One of the NLP presuppositions describes it in this way: ‘if what you are doing isn’t working, do something different’.

The reason people don’t try alternatives is that they become stuck in the way they think, and stuck in repeating the same behaviour. The ability to shift your thinking and modify your behaviour is something you can learn, practice and develop. The more skilled you become at this the easier everything in life becomes.

As a baseline you need to really understand human nature, and be able to recognise patterns in language, including your own. We humans are complex creatures, but we think, act and behave in set patterns throughout our lives. For some people the patterns work well, for others they don’t. When you are able to delete or edit your patterns, and create new ones, then you become significantly more influential in all life contexts.

You can acquire the skill to shift your thinking, take alternative perspectives and design different strategies during the course of our NLP Practitioner Programme. The variety of tools and techniques learned help you to adapt to any situation in work and life. You become more relaxed as you need less effort to achieve your aims. It’s a bit like a computer in that if you don’t upgrade the hardware now and again its performance will decline. As a NLP Practitioner you not only get an upgrade to your hardware, you get to upgrade your entire operating system – in a highly stimulating and supportive environment.

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