NLP

• NLP is not a model of repair… it is a model of acquisition … a generative model. People are not broken and do not need fixing. Human beings work perfectly and everything they do represents an achievement. The methodology and technology of NLP doesn’t focus on what’s wrong or diagnosing people: rather, it’s about how to get to where you want to go.
• People have all the resources necessary to make any change.
• Any behavior was/is adaptive given the circumstances under which it was learned. Human beings make the best choices given their representational abilities and resources available to them at any given moment in time.
• All external behavior is the result of neurological processes. This means that all external behavior is in some way a transformation of internal neural processes. Internal behavior is considered to be activity within any representational or sensory system… that is, it relates to the activity of the senses (Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic {both tactile and internal}, Olfactory, Gustatory). The senses are considered to be the “building blocks” of experience.
• The map is not the territory. Human beings create maps/models of the world to make sense of their experiences, maintain coherency, and guide their behavior. We do not operate directly on our world, but rather through our sensory representations of the world.
• The positive self-worth of the individual is held constant. A distinction is made between Self, Intention, and the Behaviour that an individual engages in. Therefore, it is intention and behaviour that are evaluated relative to usefulness and effectiveness in some given context.
• In interactions among people, the individual with greater flexibility and variability in thinking patterns and behaviors can influence, and typically does the direction of the outcome of that interaction. In Cybernetics, this is referred to as the Law of Requisite Variety.
• There are no mistakes in communication, rather, mistakes are feedback without which flexibility and variability would not be possible. Mistakes are an integral part of the readjusting process… an essential part of the learning process. Mistakes are viewed as opportunities to learn. Each experience is viewed as an unprecedented opportunity to learn.

NLP modeling is the process of observing and replicating the behaviors, thought patterns, and strategies of highly effective individuals to understand how they achieve their success.

This involves identifying the specific mental and physical techniques that these individuals use, such as their sensory perceptions, internal dialogue, and body language. By breaking down these components into detailed steps, NLP practitioners create models that can be taught and applied to others.

The goal of NLP modeling is to help individuals adopt the successful behaviors and mindsets of experts, thereby enhancing their own performance and achieving desired outcomes in various areas of life, such as communication, problem-solving, and personal development.

This approach emphasizes that excellence can be deconstructed and learned, making it accessible to anyone willing to apply the principles discovered through modeling.

NLP is rooted in constructivism and systems thinking, which posit that our understanding of reality is constructed through subjective experiences and interactions.

NLP draws on the premise that individuals perceive and process the world through their sensory modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.), and these perceptions form internal representations that shape their beliefs, behaviors, and experiences.

By modeling the successful behaviors and thought patterns of experts, NLP seeks to identify and replicate effective strategies for personal and professional development.

This approach is fundamentally pragmatic, focusing on practical outcomes and the adaptability of techniques to improve communication and problem-solving skills. The epistemological stance of NLP emphasizes experiential learning and the iterative refinement of models based on observed efficacy and feedback​.

NLP is anchored in the following epistemological frameworks that have profoundly influenced its methods and applications:

David Hume (Empiricism): According to Hume, our sensory and subjective experiences are the foundations of our knowledge. He emphasizes the importance of connecting our personal observations to the external world to discover and confirm the laws of reality.

Alfred Korzybski (General Semantics): Korzybski proposes that language, as a secondary representation of reality, circularly influences our experience of it.

Hans Vaihinger (Idealism): For Vaihinger, the world is intrinsically irrational and unknowable. Our representations of reality, which he calls “fictions,” structure our actions.

Gregory Bateson (Constructivism): Bateson argues that the validity of our knowledge is conditioned by the perceptual and mental processes that allow us to structure it, making communication a general information system governed by decodable rules.

William James (Pragmatism): James asserts that the effectiveness of science and action is measured by their practical results.