Changing beliefs using NLP: language tricks, work, techniques

Beliefs are internal dogmas that guide our consciousness and actions. For most people, life is subject to strict moral principles that shackle their inner “I” into certain frameworks, preventing them from feeling happy and free. We know in advance what will be right and what will not, what we can do and what is prohibited for us. The most popular area of modern psychology is neurolinguistic programming. It is aimed at changing human consciousness.

Briefly about NLP

This teaching combines the best practices and developments of psychology, psychotherapy and linguistic programming. NLP is focused on teaching a person practical techniques that will improve his life, changing it radically. NLP beliefs will help you begin to evaluate the world without focusing on destructive attitudes. After such therapy a person:

discovers hidden internal reserves;
becomes successful in business;
easily achieves goals;
finds an approach to people;
improves personal life.

Let's take a closer look at what neurolinguistic programming is and how, with the help of special techniques, you can change old and destructive beliefs to new attitudes that will lead to success.

From the history of NLP

Neurolinguistic programming was first studied in America in the late 80s of the last century. A group of doctors combined several common psychological techniques aimed at influencing and working with the patient’s subconscious, thereby making a revolutionary discovery. The scientific achievements of such famous psychotherapists as Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir, and linguists John Grinder and Richard Bandler were used.

History of NLP development

NLP is based on the teachings of Milton Erickson, who believed that a person reliably stores all the knowledge and skills accumulated throughout life in his subconscious. Knowing how to use this information correctly, you can easily achieve success and solve any problem. Milton Erickson suggested using memories and feelings to influence your consciousness, thereby causing the desired changes. According to this principle, recovery from serious bodily illnesses occurs when a person not only dreams of being healthy, but, using memories, forces himself to experience these feelings until the body really begins to recover.

Neurolinguistic programming prohibits the use of such a concept as “correct personality” in psychotherapy.

Insisting that no matter how a person behaved in a certain situation, it was the best possible outcome. One model of behavior cannot be considered correct and another is not. There is simply a set of reactions that a person applies in one or another life situation. The main task of neurolinguistic programming is to help choose the most effective model in a particular case.

The essence of NLP

Since NLP is based on hypnosis and Gestalt therapy, by mastering this knowledge you can learn to influence other people.

Neurolinguistic programming techniques are successfully used in acting, public speaking and business management. The fundamentals of NLP have become widely used in advertising, marketing, public communications, politics, journalism and even military affairs.

You can master the techniques of neurolinguistic programming on your own, but it is better to do this with the help of a specialist during a personal consultation or group therapy.

The essence of the technique

Neurolinguistic programming is psychological techniques that help a person succeed in any field. Accustomed to living in accordance with the rules and norms instilled in early childhood, we very rarely use our inner potential to the fullest, which affects the quality of life. A person gets used to working in a job he hates and living with an unloved partner, because he believes that he is unworthy of the best, thereby destroying himself and his life.

Neurolinguistic programming influences a person’s subconscious, changing his internal beliefs, helping him become successful and change the surrounding reality. With the help of NLP techniques, people easily recover from incurable diseases, build a successful career, become famous and financially independent.

NLP Core Beliefs

Before we talk about NLP methods, it is necessary to understand what this concept means. The term consists of three words. Neuro - human actions are controlled by the brain. Neurons reliably store all our feelings, emotions and experiences. Linguistic is a method of communication through which information is transmitted. Programming is a process that activates mental activity. In the depths of consciousness, a person has certain stereotypes and attitudes about how to behave in a given life situation, embedded from childhood.

Neuro-linguistic programming specialists use terms such as map, mind and body.

Map – denotes the basic techniques and methods of NLP, which comprehensively study human psychology (state of mind, motives for actions, underlying attitudes).
Consciousness and body are a single concept. Just as the body is controlled by our consciousness, the thought process cannot be imagined without physical activity. All nuances are taken into account: not only a person’s experiences and feelings, but also physical ailments. This is done in order to correctly choose the method of NLP influence (visual, auditory, kinetic).

Practical application of the difference between “believing” and “being convinced”

Of course, these processes are related and can be transformed into one another. The only question that arises is: what is the purpose of this transformation, and how environmentally friendly it is for the client. However, at the process level this is not impossible.

The transformation of “belief” into “belief” or vice versa (in NLP language - installation of a linguistic model) can be performed both with an explicit explanation of the explicit difference between these processes, and without explanation. There are only basic recommendations:

A). refer to the fact that language reflects the subjective reality for the vast majority of representatives of their culture, i.e. the culture contained in the language contains, to a certain extent, a “map” shared by all. b). work on “living material”, look for examples from life in the experience of your interlocutor that exactly fit the description of the processes of “belief” and “conviction”.

I propose to consider very general algorithms for converting “beliefs” into “conviction” and vice versa.

Reframing “belief to belief” 1. Appeal to a person’s experience (experienced directly or transmitted through another source) that confirms a specific belief. 2. Reframing counterexamples that may cause incongruences. 3. Transformation of the process of “being convinced” into the nominalization “belief”.

Reframing “conviction in faith” 1. Denominalization (you have a conviction, that is, you are convinced ...?) 2. Return of the referential index (were convinced by whom/what?) 3. Return to a state when a person had no experience, confirming this generalization.

Neurolinguistic programming capabilities

NLP teaches a person to evaluate himself, his skills and knowledge in a new way, and to perceive the people around him in a completely different way. Neurolinguistic programming techniques cause the following changes in a person’s life:

improve communication;
facilitate communication;
instill new beliefs;
help you understand yourself and decide on your life goals;
reveal internal needs;
relieve old grievances, fears and phobias.

Emotions on which NLP works

Thanks to the use of NLP, a person gains confidence, determination and courage, understands how to achieve what he wants and does not limit himself in achieving his goals. However, for this you constantly need to work on yourself, analyzing and identifying your negative attitudes, getting rid of destructive beliefs.

2b. What does belief mean?

Belief is a nominalization of the English verb to believe. But even though the translation is obvious, let’s not rush - let’s see how dictionaries explain this word. And, as usual, we will literally translate.

Instead of citing the meanings listed in each of the authoritative dictionaries, you can refer to WordNet. “The basic vocabulary unit in WordNet is not a single word, but a so-called synonymous series (“synsets”), combining words with a similar meaning and essentially being grid nodes” (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordNet)

In slightly less than 50% (118, the rest account for 121) cases of use of the word belief, its meaning is “to accept as true.” Moreover, the perception of this “something” as truth does not depend on directly experienced personal experience.

The Russian verb “to believe” most accurately conveys this meaning.

NLP rules

The first rule of NLP states that a person himself chooses who he wants to be in life. Guided by internal aspirations and beliefs, we decide for ourselves what we are worthy of and what we can achieve, so some become leaders by believing in themselves, while others fail.

The second rule is that when we highlight certain qualities in another person, we want to see them in ourselves. We have had them for a long time, but they are not properly developed, so we do not know how to manifest them. The third and main rule of NLP is that everything in the world flows and changes, and so does man. There is nothing wrong with developing and changing your beliefs, abandoning ingrained principles that interfere with your life.

And the last rule is that all experienced feelings, emotions, fears and impressions are securely stored in a person’s subconscious. NLP techniques will tell you how you can use these reserves to achieve your goals and improve your life.

What are human beliefs?

I will try to say it in as simple words as possible.

Beliefs are our internal rules by which we live, act or do not take action.

Beliefs answer the questions: What to do? How to do?

There can be a lot of beliefs: how many people have so many opinions.

Beliefs can be inspiring or limiting. In this article, I focus specifically on limiting beliefs, since they are the ones that often hold us back from conquering various peaks.

Examples of limiting beliefs: big money - big problems; to have a lot of money, you need to work hard; all men are deceivers; friendship between a man and a woman does not exist; I can never succeed; success is achieved only through deception; I always do everything at the last moment; I will never be able to speak in public, etc.

I think it has become clearer to you what beliefs are. Look at them again, perhaps some are typical for you.

Methods for changing beliefs

The principles and foundations instilled in a child during his upbringing, as well as the knowledge accumulated in the process of life, are our beliefs. When making a decision, making an important choice, we focus on the views that are formed on the basis of the upbringing we received, the influence of authorities, the social environment, and instilled stereotypes. A person has established beliefs in any area of life: personal, professional, religious, social and political.

In work, a person operates with the knowledge that he received during training in his chosen profession. In personal life - the experience accumulated in previous relationships and the morality instilled by society.

Practicing NLP psychotherapists distinguish two main types of internal beliefs: deep and limiting.

Deep Beliefs

Developed in childhood or during upbringing. The best example of such beliefs is internal complexes, as well as how a person perceives and evaluates himself. This may be an old childhood fear. When the parents did not raise the child, but only scolded him, he develops the confidence: “I am not worthy of love!”, which will certainly poison his personal relationships in adulthood. A person’s conviction, which carries a negative connotation, shapes his life scenario, contributing to the development of all kinds of fears and complexes, which in adult life make him insecure, soft-bodied and indecisive.

Limiting or subconscious beliefs

A person does not even realize that he has hidden beliefs that adversely affect his life, forcing him to make wrong decisions, experience fear and self-doubt. These views are so ingrained in his subconscious that he believes that this is the only way it can be. Such beliefs manifest themselves in the form of phrases: “I can’t”, “not for me”, “I can’t”, “unworthy”, “it won’t work out”.

Such attitudes program a person in a negative way. Outdated and destructive beliefs interfere and prevent you from living a full and happy life, and therefore need to be changed. Neurolinguistic programming helps you get rid of wrong beliefs.

Working with beliefs is about becoming aware of persistent thoughts and attitudes and using psychological techniques that will help change these principles. If you decide to use Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques, be careful as beliefs can have both positive and negative effects on a person.

"Categorization"

These beliefs describe what is what, what belongs to what category. That is, for which “things” which rules are fulfilled (or not fulfilled).

Actually, all statements like “I am a genius”, “she is beautiful”, “all cats are cute”, “I don’t like blondes”, “I like burritos” are beliefs about attitude to the category. That is, a person places himself in the “genius” category, “her” in the “beauty” category, and blondes in the “don’t like” category. As you can imagine, all identity beliefs are of this type: “I am a genius,” “he is an idiot,” “I am a motorcycle racer.”

— Petrov is a successful businessman. [“Petrov” is included in the category of “successful businessmen”]

— Mercedes produces good cars. [cars falling into the “good cars” category]

- I don't deserve happiness. [“I” do not fall into the “deserving of happiness” category]

— Health is important. ["Health" is included in the "important" category]

The full form for this type of belief must include a rationale for why “A is in category B”—usually a statement of satisfaction of the criterion: “Petrov is a successful businessman because he has a million-dollar net worth.”

Identity

The most important among this type of beliefs would be the identity beliefs : “I am a good swimmer.”

Please note that if a person has assigned himself to a category (identity), then formally all beliefs about this value must be fulfilled:

— I am a good swimmer because I trained a lot. [cause]

— I am a good swimmer, so I am invited to important competitions. [consequence]

— I am a good swimmer, because I can swim a hundred meters and not get out of breath. [criteria]

— I am a good swimmer, which means that I swim better than most other people. [definition] But in reality, things are often not quite like that - and this can be used to change or strengthen a belief.

Belief Changing Technique

Changing beliefs using NLP techniques is based on the method of working with the subconscious, which was proposed by the American psychologist Robert Dilts. Let's look at how to use this technique to work with your beliefs.

Calibration (assessment) of a person in NLP

Preparatory stage

First you need to collect and analyze information. Determine which belief is stopping you at this stage of your life. Formulate it. These could be phrases like: “I’m sick all the time!”, “I never succeed!”, “I’m a loser!”, “Love is not for me!”. Record all your doubts and feelings associated with the statement. It is important to understand why a negative attitude prevents you from forming positive thoughts, turning any action into a loss of faith in yourself and your strength.

Imagine what will change in your life when you start thinking differently.

Assess how your acquaintances and friends will react to changes in your behavior. Formulate a new statement. Please note that this phrase must be positive, describing the process by which you will begin to change your life. For example, “I believe in learning to live a healthy lifestyle!” or “Love is present in my life! I love and I am loved!".

2a.Language and culture form a map commonly shared by many people.

Two important characteristics of maps should be noticed. A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness. Alfred Korzybski

There are two important characteristics of the cards to note. A map is not the territory it represents, but if the map is correct, it shares a common structure with the territory, and this makes it useful. Alfred Korzybski.

People who study or consider human thinking in the context of more than one person understand, of course, that the same idea can be viewed differently by two different people. But they also understand something else: if a certain community of people shares a language and culture, then they will also, to a certain extent, share the meanings of words, the representations that stand behind these words. Most completely, different people of the same culture will separate directly perceived objects (for example, a house in the sense of “building”, matches, an apple) and actions (for example, take, give), and it is much worse to separate, or even not separate at all, concepts and abstract operations (to go far, just ask a friend who is completely unfamiliar with NLP to describe “your own state in terms of repsystems, and add which ones: visual, auditory, kinesthetic and olfactory,” and then observe the misunderstanding).

Another thing is people who are superficially familiar with NLP and are completely unfamiliar with the works of A. Korzybsky. For them, don’t point out anything - the importance of linguistic accuracy of instructions, the fact that there is programming in NLP, so the steps of the techniques must be performed in the original order, and not swapped, and the fact that if this is not done, the technique will be performed incorrectly , - to any of these comments you can get a puzzling answer: “And this is my card. As you know, it’s not territory.”, and this would mean the usual “get away from me.”

I anticipate that if we take the definition of “faith” and “conviction” from the dictionary, many of those who misinterpret Korzybski will say: “but in my map it’s not like this, but this way.” You can explain to them at length that explanatory dictionaries are compiled for a dual purpose:

1. reveal (express explicitly) verbal representations implicitly shared by an entire linguistic culture (perform linguistic modeling); 2. teach people the meanings of these verbal representations (install linguistic models).

But the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski wrote about this most expressively, ironizing at would-be writers who did not know the realities of the Middle Ages and therefore made funny mistakes in their fantasy novels:

The critic knows his stuff. Fantasy is not fantasy, he says, the laws oblige it. A two-handed sword is a two-handed sword, chain mail is chain mail, a crossbow is a crossbow, a horse is a horse, a catfish is a catfish, and soap is soap. And we must admit: in many cases the critic is absolutely right. If the fantasy author claims that: a) the barbican (a watchtower in front of the fortress wall (historical)) is a device for destroying fortress walls; b) guisarma is the barracks of the city guard; c) drawn crossbows are carried in packs; d) catfish have scales; e) soap lathers in sea water, then such an author violates the principles of terminology, logic, does not know what he is writing about - ergo: he is a club, and not a war club, but a simple stick.
Andrzej Sapkowski, “In the Cowpat Mountains”

In order not to think of anything ourselves (after all, most of the readers are probably not native speakers of English-speaking culture), not to violate the “principles of terminology and logic” and to clearly understand what is meant in English-language sources by the word belief, I suggest turning to the least biased and most reflective of the language map an entire culture to explanatory dictionaries.

Changing Beliefs Using NLP Techniques

At the second stage, it is necessary to launch the work of the so-called submodalities in the subconscious - channels through which a person receives information about the world around him and the events occurring in it (visual, kinetic, vocal). Smell, color, size and location are signs that help us perceive and distinguish reality.

Now the negative belief needs to be questioned. Perhaps the conclusion you once made in the past is wrong. Using submodalities, replace the destructive attitude with a new belief. In the process of this psychological work on yourself, you need to pay close attention to your inner feelings.

Testing a New Belief

Whether your subconscious has believed in the new belief will be shown by your further behavior. If you are not sure that the NLP technique has worked, it is worth repeating everything again and thoroughly thinking about the new wording of your statement.

The first stage of the technique is considered the most important: how accurately you identify destructive attitudes, their cause and effect, choose words for new statements and believe in success depends on whether you will be able to start a new life. NLP techniques can be used at any age, which is an advantage of this direction in psychology.

Why examine your beliefs?

To cope with inappropriate negative emotions and get rid of maladaptive behavior (C), you first need to understand the connection between A (event) and C (behavior) - that is, identify B (beliefs). And - make a conscious re-evaluation of them.

Ellis' Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy shows how beneficial it is to do this. It is based on the ABC model, and its effectiveness is confirmed by research [, ,]. Moreover, such therapy helps to cope with a variety of problems: from depression and social phobia to parental stress. And neuroimaging studies show that conscious reappraisal of one's emotions and beliefs softens the activity of the amygdala, which plays a key role in the formation of emotions.

But even if it seems to you: I don’t suffer from negative emotions, which means everything is in order with my beliefs, the ABC model will still be useful. Consciousness works exactly like this: a certain event occurs, we think about it or apply our attitudes to it unconsciously - and on this basis we form our reaction. Let's say your reaction doesn't color your thoughts or cause you to behave in a way that would be a problem. Then use the ABC model to study not troubles, but neutral or positive events. This will help you pay more attention to your behavior, understand it better, and manage it more effectively.

NLP methods of influencing other people

Neurolinguistic programming has been successfully used not only for individual growth, but also to influence others. Similar psychological techniques are often used in practice:

managers and owners of large companies;
politicians;
creative people (artists, singers, media persons).

Using NLP techniques, you can change the beliefs of colleagues, friends and acquaintances, making them share your point of view. Neurolinguistic programming will help you achieve approval and support in the team, as well as build personal relationships.

There are several most common NLP techniques that will help make a person change his beliefs.

Copy person

This technique will easily help you win the affection of another person. It consists in fully reflecting all the actions of your interlocutor, from the manner of dressing, conducting a conversation, and ending with joint hobbies. You will signal to the person you are interested in that you not only have the same goals, views and hobbies, but also a worldview and life position.

The techniques that psychologists advise to use are not difficult to implement.
When talking to your opponent, maintain eye contact with him the entire time.
Let's understand that you are listening carefully to the person, supporting the conversation with head nods.
Take the same position as your interlocutor. This simple technique will create a sense of community and belonging between you.

Manipulation

This technique is most often used to influence others. Manipulation makes it easy to achieve what you want using special psychological techniques. During communication, you can suggest to a person whatever you want.

The essence of basic NLP terms

First you need to determine the submodality of a person.

If the main way to obtain information is a visual picture, then in a conversation it is necessary to say the following phrases: “great prospect”, “hard to imagine”, “I can foresee”.
If your interlocutor is an auditory speaker, the priority words should be changed to: “I focus attention”, “I fall silent”, “piercing result”.
When communicating with a kinesthetic learner, use the following phrases: “I feel”, “grab the idea”, “give an award”.

Such expressions will help convey information to the interlocutor in a way that he understands, facilitate communication and make the person support your idea, changing his initial opinion.

Apply the so-called hypnotic gaze. To do this, you should concentrate, without blinking, look at the center of the bridge of your interlocutor’s nose. After successful hypnosis, your opponent will support you and give up his beliefs. You can also build a conversation so that the interlocutor gives you a positive answer 3 times in a row. Then feel free to ask for what you need.

Gypsies often use manipulation to influence people. Attracting attention with their bright appearance, gestures and demeanor, they distract a person and force him to perform actions unusual for him. You can borrow this technique to suggest what you want.

Another NLP manipulation technique is called “pattern breaking.” It consists in showing yourself in the most unexpected way in standard situations. To the question: “How are you?” Instead of the usual phrase - “As usual!”, answer - “Excellent!” While your interlocutor is confused, you can influence him.

How to correctly translate and interpret belief

Let's start with the roots. Early translators started a vicious tradition by translating the original English term "belief" into "belief." The most important complaint is that this word is literally translated as “belief” (from the English verb believe - to believe), in order to translate “beliefs” as “beliefs” in the plural.

Where does this requirement for literal accuracy in translation come from? The creators of NLP tell us about the importance of observing literalism in the mouth of the speaker and literal perception in his interlocutor from the pages of each of their books - starting with “The Structure of Magic” and ending with Bandler’s latest book “Richard Bandler’s Guide to Trance–formations.” And Steve Andreas speaks about the chronic lack of a shared base of terms and concepts.

NLP tricks

People who master the tricks of the language of persuasion can easily gain favor and trust with the help of NLP, ensuring that their interlocutor changes his opinion about something.

Start the conversation with a positive. Let this be a simple fact known to everyone. Hearing familiar information, a person will relax and open to communication. Use a distraction to gain support. Offer your opponent several possible options to choose from that can solve the problem that has arisen, and then feel free to propose the idea that you are promoting. During the conversation, ask all questions in the affirmative. This technique will create the illusion that a positive response has already been received, and the interlocutor will have no choice but to support you.

If you decide to use NLP techniques, remember that the other person is a unique individual. To understand the motives of other people's actions, try to study their desires and beliefs.

Neuro-linguistic programming should not be used to cause harm.

Rules of life

These are beliefs about “rules of interaction with values.” Value is a category of things that are important to us. Beliefs of this type describe what to do with this category. Since values are very general concepts, beliefs also describe fairly large generalizations.

— To succeed you need to work hard. [to obtain the value "success" you need to "work hard"]

— Money is a sign of a successful business. [having “money” is the criterion for a “successful business”]

— Cancer leads to death. [“cancer” leads to the achievement of the anti-value “death”]

— Freedom is the opportunity to be who you want. [definition of the value “freedom”]

Cause-effect

These beliefs describe what you need to do to get into the category (satisfy the value) and what will happen if you receive this value. For example, the value “popularity”.

Reason : “In order to become popular, you need to work hard.”

Corollary : "Popularity leads to loss of common sense."

A characteristic feature of this type of belief is the presence of a sequence - one comes after the other: “alcoholism leads to death,” “love causes happiness.”

The “cause-effect” type includes ought beliefs:

- I have to work hard.

- He is forced to try.

- I can't be late.

It’s just that the second part is usually “lost” in these beliefs: what will happen if you don’t do it (or do it).

— To get a promotion, I have to work hard.

- In order not to stay for a second year, he is forced to try.

- I can’t be late - I can get fired for being late.

In the meta-model, to restore the full form of beliefs of this type, a reaction to the pattern “modal verb of obligation or necessity” is used.

Complex equivalent

Another type of belief “equates” different elements with each other. These include beliefs about criteria (how will I know when a value is satisfied?) and definition (what is it?).

Criteria: “If they constantly talk about you, invite you to different places and want to communicate with you, then you are popular.”

Beliefs about criteria usually assume that all criteria must be met: “Success is when you have a lot of money, everyone respects and envy you.” If at least one of the criteria is not met, then the value has not been achieved. You won’t be able to understand just from a phrase whether a person has mentioned all the criteria - you need to additionally collect information.

Definition: “Popularity is when you are the center of attention.”

As the name suggests, this belief “explains” what a value is.

Definition beliefs often link values together: “Love is happiness,” “truth is a necessity,” and so on.

The benefits and harms of the technique

Just a few years ago, neurolinguistic programming was not considered a serious science. Today the situation has changed dramatically. NLP is recognized in many countries around the world. The effectiveness of the teaching has been proven in practice in many countries: France, Germany, Austria and Sweden. NLP has been recognized by the European Society of Psychotherapy, but there is still a group of scientists who consider neuro-linguistic programming a “fraudulent” science. There is ongoing debate about the ethics of using neurolinguistic programming techniques, which, once you master the basics, can help you gain control over the consciousness of another person.

To independently study NLP techniques, you can use books published by famous psychotherapists, videos, webinars and online courses available on the Internet. But you will get faster results if you attend a training on this topic. The coach will tell you how to correctly use neurolinguistic programming methods, help you identify incorrect beliefs and formulate new attitudes.

The technique of neurolinguistic programming can be compared to an ordinary kitchen knife. Someone will use this tableware to prepare food. In the hands of a bad person, a knife can turn into a murder weapon.

Neuro-linguistic programming is strictly contraindicated for some people, as it can be harmful to their health. These psychological techniques should not be used by those who have nervous disorders or any developmental disorders, as well as by children with fragile psyches.