NLP Presuppositions

Another founding concept of NLP is the notion of presuppositions. NLP presuppositions are no more than generalisations about the world that can prove useful to you when you act as if they’re true. Whatever you currently think about different people and problems, how you communicate and what’s important, sometimes taking a new perspective can help by triggering new action or behaviour.
There are several presuppositions, including:
“The map is not the territory”: It refers to the fact that you experience the world through your five senses – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (feelings and touch), olfactory and gustatory – the territory. You then take this external phenomenon and make an internal representation of it within your brain – the map.
The person who is most emotionally and mentally flexible in a situation will be the one that achieves their outcome. Flexibility gives more options for success and the more complex the system or situation, the more flexibility will be required.
“If one person can do something, anyone can learn to do it”. It is not only fear that holds us back but also our belief in our own limits. Our perceived, filtered map of our limits is not the true picture of our vast impressive potential. Sometimes success is a matter of adding the required resources and skills and removing the limiting beliefs that hold us back. This presupposition is also linked to the NLP process of modelling mentioned previously. Modelling people’s successes is a great way to turn potential negative feelings of envy into a constructive process for experiencing their success for yourself.
“People make the best choices available to them.” According to this presupposition, any form of behaviour, no matter how bizarre it may seem, is the best choice available to the person at that moment in time, taking their beliefs, knowledge, life experience, resources and filters into account. You may think a person is incorrect in their behaviour but, in truth, it is right for them at that point in
- Weaknesses: what you could improve; what you should avoid; and what things are the people around you likely to see as weaknesses.
- Opportunities: what interesting trends you are aware of. A useful approach to looking at opportunities is also to look at your strengths and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities. Alternatively, look at your weaknesses and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating them
- Threats: what are your obstacles; what the people around you are doing; is your job (or the demand for the things you do) changing; could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten you?
NLP does not change the world. It simply helps you change the way that you observe/perceive your world increase your options, instead of falling into the trap of being restricted by your experience. In order to get the benefit of NLP you need to be open and give yourself and others the benefit of questioning and challenging your norms in a supportive