What is NLP?

NLP is the buzzword in personal development circles today. If you are interested in personal development, there is every chance that you might have heard about it—and probably wondered what it really is. Fast and miraculous transformations are often attributed to NLP, which naturally leads to the question: How does NLP do this?

If you are curious, this report will help you understand the NLP phenomenon better.

The Origin of NLP

NLP was co-created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the early 1970s. Richard Bandler was a mathematician, and John Grinder was a linguist. They came together by asking one powerful question:

“How are successful people successful?”

Their core idea was simple yet profound: success is a process, not just a result. There is a specific sequence of thoughts, behaviors, and actions which, when followed, produce consistent results. This means success is replicable. This concept became known as Modeling.

Understanding Modeling

Consider an expert baker who creates excellent cakes. The baker follows a process: specific ingredients, specific tools, and a specific sequence. When these elements are combined correctly, the result is an excellent cake.

The cake does not care who baked it—it is simply the outcome of a proven process. Anyone who understands and follows the process can bake an excellent cake, and then add their own uniqueness to make it even better. This is the essence of modeling.

How NLP Began as Modeling

In the same way, NLP began as a modeling process. Bandler and Grinder believed that excellence could be replicated. They chose psychotherapy as their field of study and modeled three outstanding performers:

• Fritz Perls – Gestalt therapist
• Virginia Satir – Family therapist
• Milton Erickson – Master influencer and hypnotherapist

They studied these experts for many years, focusing on what truly made them exceptional: their body language, verbal communication, behaviors, relationship-building skills, thinking patterns, beliefs, values, and therapeutic processes.

What emerged was a common set of beliefs, values, and execution styles that consistently produced excellence. This “code of excellence” was later named Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

What Does NLP Mean?

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and each word has a specific meaning:

Neuro refers to our nervous system—our brain, spinal cord, and nerves—through which we experience the world.

Linguistic refers to language, which we use to interpret these experiences and give them meaning.

Programming refers to the patterns of behavior we create based on the meanings we assign to our experiences.

Most of our behavior is shaped not by the experience itself, but by the meaning we give to it. To change behavior, we do not need to change the experience—only the meaning. When meaning changes, behavior changes, and better experiences naturally follow.

The Core Philosophy of NLP

At its core, NLP is the art and science of changing the meaning of experiences. To do this, NLP uses three core principles, known as the ARM of NLP:

• Anchoring
• Reframing
• Modeling

Definitions of NLP

• NLP is the study of subjective experience.
• NLP is the study of human excellence and how it can be duplicated.
• NLP is the study of the influence of language on the mind and behavior.
• NLP is the systematic study of human communication.
• NLP is the ability to be your best more often.
• NLP is a powerful and practical approach to personal change.
• NLP is the software for the brain.
• NLP is whatever works.
• NLP is an attitude and a methodology that leaves behind a trail of techniques.
• NLP is the art and science of excellence.