NLP Life Coaching

Introduction

NLP Life Coaching is a radical approach to induce desired behavioral change using the relationship between the patterns of thought, emotions and patterns of behavior of people. NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming which is a science based on human behavior and the underlying sub-conscious programs.

NLP principles rest on the belief that individuals have immense mental power that remains dormant in their subconscious minds and that power can be unleashed by NLP trained professionals to generate awesomely positive results in the lives of people.

Origin of NLP Life Coaching

Richard Bandler, an American author and a renowned life coach, co-invented the term “Neuro-Linguistic Programming” in the 1970s along with John Grinder at the University of California at Santa Cruz. His definition of Neuro-Linguistic Programming now appears in the Oxford English Dictionary. It says:

Neuro-Linguistic Programming: “a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behavior and the subjective experiences (esp. patterns of thought) underlying them” and “a system of alternative therapy based on this which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, and to change their patterns of mental and emotional behavior.”

NLP Life Coaching and Conventional Life Coaching – What are the differences?

This is an often asked question in the world of coaching. Indeed, the two methods have different ways of applying, while both have the same purpose of addressing the clients’ problems and challenges and helping them solve those issues themselves. In fact, sometimes both can work together as a complementary system to each other to give better and sustainable results. Also, sometimes a seasoned coach may decide to provide either normal life coaching, or NLP based life coaching depending on the specific situation and scope. Let us have a sneak peek into both systems.

Life Coaching

A life coach guides a client through the coaching process by understanding the client’s real desire, then asks well-thought questions that help the client evaluate the situation with clarity and decide the steps to be taken or changes to be made, in order to reach his or her desired goal in life. Also, the coach engages the client with accountability for progressing along the course. In other words, a life coach plays the role of a strategist and motivator who not only helps the client to reach the goal but provides an excellent experience throughout the journey. At the end of a coaching session, the client should ideally be able to move forward without any help from the coach. The experience of working with a life coach can be so empowering and inspiring that in many cases the clients renew the coaching contracts to enhance their lives further.

NLP is founded on a scientific fact that anyone’s Psychological and Physical states are interconnected. The human brain works in a systematic way like a computer, that carries out mental functions similar to computer programs in an ordered sequence of instructions and the outcome is the physiology and mental state of a person. NLP can specifically and objectively identify those states in relation to the mental and physiological state that the client is in, and then provide specific means to alter and improve those states in that client, to reach the desired state.

In short, application of NLP life coaching involves conventional coaching along with psychological techniques to help the clients reach their goals in a sustainable way, from their present state.

The NLP practice focuses on the clients’ thought process and patterns at their sub-conscious mind which in turn have an influence on their behavior. The NLP Coach identifies the undesirable thought patterns and helps the clients to correct those during the course of their coaching process.

In NLP Life Coaching, some of the areas include:

Relationship
Career
Finance
Health & Habits
Studies

Benefits of Using NLP Techniques in Coaching

Improved interpersonal skills with all people around
Ability to negotiate and persuade better
Enhanced skill to handle emotions intelligently and gracefully
Ability of managing conflicts in personal and professional life with confidence
Improved health and fitness
Stopping procrastination, addiction and other self-destructive habits or thoughts
Better understanding of purpose and meaning of life
Enhancement of relationship with others, in professional and personal life, etc.

In fact, NLP Life Coaching techniques are so powerful that it can improve everyone’s quality of life in a lasting way and faster than conventional life coaching in many cases.

Therapeutic Value of NLP

There are many situations where it is very hard to solve a client’s problem by using Life Coaching techniques simply because the issues are anchored deep into the sub-conscious mind of the client. Asking questions to help the client find the solution either would not work, or it would take a very long time to see any positive and lasting effect. On the other hand, using Anchoring technique, for example, an NLP Life Coach can alter the mental program at the sub-conscious mind of the client. The results are seen very soon, if not instantly.

Summary

The takeaway from this article can be summarized as:

Life Coaching principle believes that people can be helped to find the ways to solve their problems themselves. The coach can guide them, sometimes teach them and widen their thinking ability, but do not instruct them to make any specific decision. A life coach follows the progress of the client, keeping him or her accountable and more aware of his or her own progress during the coaching process.

NLP Life Coach is not a guide or mentor. She analyzes the situation, asks questions to access the pattern of the client’s thoughts, conceptions, phobias, orientation (as visual/auditory/kinesthetic) etc. and apply the NLP Life Coaching. In that sense, NLP Coaching is more directive in its approach.

Conclusion

A Life Coach can make significant positive changes in the lives of his or her clients and help them reach their goals. Life Coaching interactions are mostly focused at the conscious level of mind. At the same time, it is a fact that the sub-conscious mind carries much more information than the surface, that is, the conscious part of the mind. Therefore, if a life coach acquires mastery in NLP Life Coaching, he or she can help the clients get positive results faster, by deciding the best technique between the two, or a blend of both, using experience and expertise.

Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts or questions. And also, you can click on the Twitter button below to retweet this article… Thank you!

Arun Chattopadhyay
Business Coach
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