Uncover the important
There’s a difference between being brief and being productive. What springs to mind easily is always what we have thought before, and it often doesn’t begin with our own thought. The familiar is always readily available and the familiar includes all the false and half-true things that we have ever learned. The familiar reinforces the […]
How to be confident enough to say nothing
It used to be called holding your peace. Many people think it means to say nothing. But actually, it means something like knowing when more talk won’t help. And, paradoxically, it doesn’t start out feeling peaceful. It feels like an argument with yourself. What happens when somebody says something outrageously unfair? Maybe there are people […]
Separating the noise from the signal
We all want to be right. We give 5 stars to training programs that let us be right all the time. We can be certain we will use what they are teaching because. . . we are already using it. We can only be right all the time if we’re not encountering anything new. Life […]
The integrity to withstand change
When we look closely at why people study NLP, we see people who want to know that they can maintain their best selves when change happens to them and around them. We all know that change is not always something we can shape or control. How can we shape ourselves to withstand it? The answer […]
What’s stopping you?
The people who arrive at NLP Canada Training are often ready to get to know themselves better. But I wonder about the people who don’t make it into the workshops. Do they think that digging deeper means uncovering all the sore spots? Do you think that self discovery means diagnosing what is wrong with you? […]
How Self Knowledge Drives Performance
Do you believe that looking inside youself is great for people who like that sort of thing, but it’s not really for you? Or maybe you believe that your spiritual practice is a way of recovering from the world (not meeting it head on)? Imagine this: you walk into a room and notice that everyone […]
Self-Awareness and Self-Knowledge
Whenever you learn something new, you also develop self-awareness. Asking yourself questions allows you to bring thoughts and connections to the surface. Learning new skills lets you observe yourself as you face challenges and choose to work through them or get frustrated. Meeting new people allows you to see yourself reflected in new ways. Our […]
Bright spots and flashlights
If you’re standing in bright sun, you don’t need a flashlight. But if, like much of the world right now, you are aware of shadows and uncertainty ahead, you need a clear beam that shows you the ground under your next step. You’ll find it in your own experience of moments that felt true and bright.
A better way to think about goal setting
There are lots of methods for thinking about how or why to make a particular goal real. Sometimes we are told to set SMART goals (goals we know we can achieve) and sometimes to set stretch goals (goals we cannot achieve without growth). But starting with the goal is like planting a seed without knowing […]
The Art and Science of Self Development
Science is the study of what exists and how it works. It looks closely at specific information and tries to understand how it fits with what is already known or hypothesized. It helps us answer the question “What?” but has less to do with the big “whys” in our lives. Art is a way to […]