Monday Mindset: Nothing is good or bad

Posted on 04 June 2012 by

You can mulle...er...do it!‘Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so’ according to William Shakespeare (Hamlet Act 2 scene ii)

I really think the Bard knew what he was talking about here. The way we think about things makes them what they are to us. Specifically, the way we describe things in words makes them ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in our minds. Or anything else – interesting, boring, useful, beautiful or inspiring.

In case you haven’t heard me say this before…

There’s always more than one way to describe a thing.

If the way you currently describe something means that you don’t feel good about it, how about experimenting with different words. Not to change the meaning, just to shift the emphasis.

For example, the complaint,
‘I’m not happy about that’ could be re-worded to, ‘I’m not totally happy about that’. How does that shift your thoughts?

Or the try this one: ‘I’m not good at that, I can’t do it’ transformed to ‘I haven’t discovered the easiest way to do it yet’.

In NLP this is usually described as re-framing. You could also call it taking control of your thoughts. I think of it as shifting focus using language.

But like I said, there’s always more than one way to describe a thing.

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Guest blog post – written by:
Dianne Lowther Master Trainer of NLP

Dianne Lowther is a Master Trainer of NLP and Principal of Brilliant Minds. She specialises in applications of NLP for leadership and business results.

Monday Mindset: What else can you do?

Posted on 16 April 2012 by

What do you do?I was reading a post on Bob Howard-Spink’s blog in which he compares to-do lists with Leonardo Da Vinci and suggests that as well as a ‘to-do’ list, we can all benefit from having a ‘things I’ve done’ list. (You can read the complete post at http://dld.bz/brfZr.)

So it got me thinking. Have you ever noticed that there’s something you find easy to do, but which other people admire and regard you as very skilled because you can do it when they find it hard?

Chances are, you acquired that skill in a completely different phase of your life or in a different context, but nonetheless it gave a capability that you can be proud of.
For example, in my 20s, when I did a lot of competitive debating, I never imagined that one day it would give me total confidence in front of a video camera! But when I trace back the origin of my ability to speak to camera without any notes, I’m pretty sure it’s a consequence of many hours spent at a particularly barbaric form of debating known as ‘2-person debating’. (Five minutes to prepare then the toss of a coin decides which side you’re on.)

Whatever the niche that you currently operate in, I’m sure there’s a lot more that you can do and many more activities that you enjoy.

What about making a list of your capabilities? Not the kind of list you make to impress a potential client or to put on a CV. Just a list for your own pleasure. A list of things you can do. To remind you how far you’ve come in your journey through life and to appreciate the opportunities you’ve had.

My list would include: Hanging wallpaper, baking a cake, reversing a canal boat into a berth (you don’t know how impressive that is unless you’ve ever tried it!), ballroom dancing and chairing a meeting with formal progress of a motion in line with Roberts’ Rules of Order. And I might add measuring a man for a bespoke suit but I wouldn’t want to brag…
So, come on, today celebrate the amazing skills that you’ve picked up over the years and revel in the variety of different things you can turn your hand to. There is more to life than niche marketing!

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Guest blog post – written by:
Dianne Lowther Master Trainer of NLP

Dianne Lowther is a Master Trainer of NLP and Principal of Brilliant Minds. She specialises in applications of NLP for leadership and business results.

Monday Mindset: Mind, Body and Business

Posted on 09 April 2012 by

Taking Care Of It AllThere is a basic principle of NLP that says ‘the mind and the body are all one system’. So as well as taking care of your mindset, how about taking care of your body?

It’s probably all too familiar to you that it’s hard to do your best work or make good decisions if you haven’t had enough sleep, had too much alcohol or you’re suffering with some physical ailment. Most people will do the ‘sensible’ thing and go to bed early the night before an important meeting or event.

How often though, do you take care of yourself simply to face an ordinary day in the office? And do you know what physical factors make the greatest difference to your overall well-being? For example, lots of people drink several cups of coffee in a day. For some, that’s fine. For others, who are not aware of their sensitivity to caffeine, those regular cups of coffee could be causing a level of physical stress that would be a barrier to working effectively.

Some people work in cramped conditions, huddled over a laptop in a corner of the dining room or spare bedroom. If that’s you and you don’t remember to stretch regularly, your mind will become as cramped as your body.

So today, take stock of how well you’re treating your body and become aware of how you can enhance your mindset by boosting your physical well-being.

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Guest blog post – written by:
Dianne LowtherMaster Trainer of NLPDianne Lowther is a Master Trainer of NLP and Principal of Brilliant Minds. She specialises in applications of NLP for leadership and business results.

Monday Mindset: What can we learn from Vince Cable?

Posted on 26 March 2012 by

Time to Learn!Last week the newspapers in the UK were full of the latest story about Vince Cable, the Business
Secretary. A document had been ‘leaked’ to the Press, in which Mr Cable criticised the government
for having ‘no vision’ for business.

So what?

Well, as Business Secretary Vince Cable is part of the Government. As Business Secretary he is the
person who leads the Government’s involvement in private business. So from where I’m sitting, he
may as well have leaked a document saying, ‘I’m not very good at my job’!

There are two lessons in this for all of us:

Firstly, whenever you feel like criticising someone else over a problem, consider what your own
responsibility might be. Have you really done everything you could to resolve the issue or prevent
it? Is it really and truly only down to that other person or is it possible that you have contributed in
some way to the situation you’re now complaining about?

The good thing about accepting responsibility for creating a problem is that it shifts you into the
mindset where you can create the solution. (Known in NLP as being ‘at cause’)

The second lesson is this: If you are going to speak to the world at large, (or your customers,
or your organisation) think about what you’re saying first. Be clear about the purpose of your
communication; think about exactly how to phrase your message. Consider some of the possible
ways that what you say can be interpreted and make sure that none of them are damaging to your
purpose.

Actually, there is a third lesson here as well. If you’re part of a team and you criticise the team, who
comes off worst?

(Please get in touch if you’d like me to work with you on crafting or delivering productive
communications in your organisation)

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Guest blog post – written by:
Dianne LowtherMaster Trainer of NLPDianne Lowther is a Master Trainer of NLP and Principal of Brilliant Minds. She specialises in applications of NLP for leadership and business results.

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