How qualified is your NLP trainer?

How well do you know your NLP trainer?

Before you make the decision to undertake an NLP course, you should consider the courses available. Beyond NLP expect you to thoroughly research our course and our teacher before you commit to our training.  It’s a lot of money and time to spend and a costly mistake if you make the wrong choice. 

We are very confident that once you’ve done your research, you’ll be certain that BEYOND NLP’s version of NLP is the best course of its kind in Australia and the best choice for you. 

Beware the untrained trainer.

NLP trainer is an unregulated term and NLP courses are an unregulated field. 

It’s possible to sign up to a course with a trainer who has just started out, with no practical experience.  NLP is complex, and should be taught by a trainer with several years of practical experience as both practitioner and teacher.

Choosing an NLP course should come down to the trainer. 

NLP is an experiential, dynamic concept.  A trainer should have the skills to bring you on a journey, to show clear examples of behaviours needing change and using real people’s reactions and signals to drive the direction of the course. 

This means the audience is truly touched by the learning, as they are a part of it and become active participants rather than a captive audience.  It takes an experienced trainer to have this amount of impact. 

Before you commit, ask where your NLP trainer learned their craft?

BEYOND NLP gives you a trainer who has travelled to the United States and the Erickson Foundation to complete NLP training.

BEYOND NLP’s course material has been influenced by industry leaders including Bill O’Hanlon, Robert Dilts, and Stephen Gilligan.

Our trainer has over 10 years in private practice, has spent hundreds of hours in clinics with real people, and has also run many training courses.

Who would you rather taught your NLP course?

The risks of choosing an underqualified NLP trainer

It is a dangerous undertaking to take on the training of others with limited knowledge.  It’s too easy to generalise without understanding the detail and substance behind the concepts.

Blanket statements like “you attract everything in to your life, so be careful what you wish for”, is a common teaching in many NLP courses. It’s very easy to poke holes in these concepts if you give them even a little thought. 

Yet vulnerable students, wishing to believe their teacher, are reluctant to question what they are being taught. 

A trainer with years of practice, who uses NLP both in their life and to help others, should teach NLP.  Someone who has tried and failed and made mistakes and learned from them. 

BEYOND NLP is different. 

This experience is what our trainer brings to your NLP training.  Not just the overseas training, the international contacts and the depth of knowledge, but the innate knowledge of how NLP works on human behaviour that can only be gained from years of experience. 

What sort of NLP are you looking for?  What sort of teacher?

It’s an easy decision when you think about it.  Our NLP.  Our teacher.

Our next course begins on September 19^th.  Join us and experience our NLP.  Be immersed in the difference Our NLP offers.

Call 02 9977 7937 and talk to us or visit http://beyondnlp.com.au/nlp-training-guide/ to receive a copy of our training guide. 

Ian Thorpe’s struggle - Is it part of a larger issue?

 

Photo Source: freedigitalphotos.com artzsamui

Whilst the media concentrates on one aspect of Ian Thorpe’s recent interview regarding his private life, I was more interested in his struggles with depression. 
For me it begs the question…why have so many Australian athletes, particularly swimmers, struggled since their retirement?



Is it possible that elite athletes are more vulnerable than the general population to problems when they return to “civilian” life? Is it possible that what makes them so good as athletes, could work against them later in life?

Consider the spate of incidences we have had among retired swimmers -Grant Hackett, Geoff Huegill and Ian Thorpe all having very public personal struggles. And making the papers for all of the wrong reasons.

So what is going on?

Let’s look at the problem in context. To be an elite athlete, especially a swimmer, requires enormous discipline and a huge amount of structure, purpose and determination in your life.

Your diet is controlled. Your social life is controlled. Your day is highly regimented. And, for most of them, this dedication starts before they are teens.

For many, they are also retired before the age of 30.

Now, in order to function in this extreme way effectively, most athletes lean towards something called dichotomous thinking. To lay people, this is referred to as black or white thinking or all or nothing thinking.

In the world of elite athletes, this is a huge advantage because when they are on, they are on, and nothing stops them. They push past pain, past injury, past fatigue. They won’t give up because they’re tired or feeling low or tempted by other pursuits.

The down side is, that when they’re off, they’re off!

When they retire, their lives change completely overnight.  From having so much structure imposed on them to…nothing, unless they organize it themselves. They become ordinary ‘Joes’ and have to deal with immense uncertainties regarding their future, relationships and ordinary daily life. For the first time for many of them, they also have to deal with their emotions.

And of course, the dichotomist (black and white) way of thinking they’ve been applauded for until now doesn’t work well in the ‘real world’.  Most of the world doesn’t operate in a black or white way.  It’s all shades of grey. 

There may be some active press, or requests for charity and media appearances but not for long.  And it’s time to consider a normal job, further education, a career. If by now they haven’t made a decision or invested their earnings to create an income, what is the next step?

Now many become stuck, as they wonder, ‘what do I do next? I’ve been training for this my whole life, I hadn’t thought beyond this. What do I do?’

This sudden loss of structure (quite early as many athletes retire in their early to mid 20’s) causes many to turn to drugs or excess binging.  And it’s this point where depression may become a problem.

‘Real life’ requires cognitive flexibility

Elite athletes risk falling into levels of anxiety and or depression as they struggle to cope with their new unstructured life. There must be more support and a gradual removal of structure as they mourn the number one relationship they’ve had in their life until now. Between them and their sport.

The vulnerability to emotional issues in elite athletes has certainly been drawn to our attention over the years as time and time again, they are found and exposed (often by the relentless media) engaging in self-destructive activities.

I believe that these elite sportsmen and women are, as a group, particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety.  And I question whether this aspect of their lives, that of returning to ‘normal life’ after retirement, is addressed realistically and properly by their management and the sporting associations to which they belong.

Ian Thorpe has struggled since retiring from swimming with returning to ‘real life’ for the reasons outlined above.  We wish him all the best for the future.

Managing Anxiety - Getting Your Head Around It!

Managing Anxiety – Getting Your Head Around it!

Using internal powers of thought and reasoning to fight anxiety gives the anxious person the strength to be in charge of their own recovery.  Gordon Young outlines how it’s possible to control anxiety from within if you’re willing and able to use the mental tools you already possess. 

Regaining Control over Catastrophes

A common issue for those who suffer anxiety is differentiating between what they can and can’t control. 

The truth is, we can control very little outside ourselves. At best, we can influence others, or the course of events we are directly involved in (in a small way).  The world is far too big and unpredictable for a single human to have power over it. 

Many parents understand this when they realise they don’t even have control of the small human they created, and yet some tie themselves in knots trying to control every experience and situation their child is placed into.  Sadly, this behaviour often has the effect of making the child anxious too.

Learning that you don’t have control of external events is a tough lesson. But there is good news.  And it’s this:

Anything inside us IS within our control.

We may not control our every random thought, but we do control what we focus on, listen to and engage with internally.  This is an immense power we should embrace.

·       We choose which thoughts, feelings and voices we give attention to.

·       We choose our actions and our inactions.

·       We choose what we focus on and what we ignore in the world around us. And nobody and nothing controls us without our compliance.

·       We choose the risk assessment and decide whether we're comfortable with the uncertainty in the situation.

·       We choose whether or not we listen to our fears.

A Convenient Truth
Anxiety is generated from within.  It is not an external force. It is important to help sufferers recognise they are creating their own anxiety.

Recognition and acknowledgement that we can choose what we worry about and decide what concerns we are going to take seriously can change the way we think.

Teaching an anxious person they are in fact, able to control their internal reactions to the events life throws at them can be a reliable antidote to anxiety.

Uncertainty isn’t always bad

The anxious person sees a lack of clarity for the future as a bad thing.  They wish to know everything that will follow so they are never caught off guard. 

But in reality, a life of complete certainty would be boring.  It is the uncertain spaces where novelty and surprise exist. A certain life would be devoid of newness and variety.  It is also the uncertain spaces that harbour all of our potentials.

It may be hard to convince an anxious person that there is good in uncertainty.  But it’s an important step to take. 

People who are not anxious accept it is virtually impossible to create a life where there is no uncertainty.  In contrast, an anxious person has a tendency to catastrophise the future.  That is, everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

In reality, the future the anxious person is so very worried about will be both good and bad but it will mostly be neutral.  Just life, normal and boring. To predict and fear only negative experiences is a distortion.

A negative future is usually no more likely than a positive future, and ultimately, neither has happened yet. It is unwritten.

A way to manage this fear is to plan for the worst.  Ask yourself, if the situation I’m worried about does go badly, what will I do?  Formulating a plan to deal with the worst-case scenario takes away the fear and the feeling of helplessness. 

Making a plan answers the ‘what if’ question anxious people constantly ask themselves diminishes the unknowns and they lose there poignancy if there is a plan to combat it. 

Useful thinking versus over analysis

Being able to clearly think though a problem is a very valuable skill.  In contrast, stewing for hours on a problem and overanalysing every potential outcome is not a good habit to form. 

It’s hard to tell how much analysis of a problem is good, and when does it become over analysis? Dr Michael Yapko suggests that useful analysis leads you to a decision or an action. Over-analysis or excessive rumination tends to loop you back in to the problem.

Overthinking a problem is also a concern because it can blur the assessment of risk and blow it out of proportion to the problem. 

Of course, telling an anxiety sufferer they think too much is not helpful.  Instead, be constructive by assisting them to come to a conclusion or an action and (this is the hard part) to move on once this is done.  Returning to the problem will result in more over analysis. 

One thing you can do is cover off all the factors that you can have some reasonable certainty about.  There are usually very predictable outcomes for particular actions, and only a limited range of likely responses in a given situation.

By considering these options, we may not cover of all the uncertainties but we can minimise much of the ambiguity around a future event.  Knowing these likely outcomes can help the anxious person feel more comfortable about the future and break the cycle of overthinking.

Learn to compartmentalise

This is simply when you recognise there is a time and place for everything.

It is the ability to let go, to park events and thoughts that are not going to serve you in the situation that you’re currently in (eg. a meeting, trying to sleep) and be able to pick them up again if necessary.

Before a line of thinking takes you too far from where it started, stop and decide whether it’s appropriate or timely, considering your location and companions.  If not, stop.  Put it aside for later.  And when you come back to it, you may find it’s not such a problem after all. 

The way forward? Recognition, acknowledgement and gentle guidance.

Recognising the entrenched habits and thought processes of someone with anxiety is a much more productive way of helping them deal with their struggle.  An anxious person thinks very differently to a non-anxious one.  Their priorities and concerns stem from different places. 

Acknowledgment of this will allow the family and friends of the anxious person to validate their loved ones concerns and then, to begin to help by re directing or rechanneling the anxious thoughts in a more constructive direction. 

Beat Anxiety Now World Summit - I'm in, are you?

It’s no secret that mental health is one of the most important social issues of our time.

With up to 25% of people being affected by anxiety or depression, the chances are high that you know someone who is suffering, either directly or indirectly, from one of these conditions.

To make matters worse, many of those who suffer do so silently. Social stigma, personal shame or
feelings of loneliness can cause people to live a silent pain as they look for solutions to their problems.

Low mood, panic attacks, depression, OCD, PTSD, Social Phobia, stress and anxiety can have
devastating effects on the mind and body. In a high pressure world, anxiety and its effects are ever-
present.

Unfortunately, despite the enormity of the problem, anxiety is still poorly understood by the general public, and even some sections of the therapeutic community. This Summit is an opportunity to connect with reliable expert advice for both sufferers and therapists alike. As a presenter, I am part of a Faculty that includes some the the world’s leading experts in the field, and hopefully we can educate and inspire those who need it most.

The Summit is composed of diverse professionals who will offer proven insights and strategies to help people tackle anxiety and depression. Instead of being sold a catch-all solution, Summit members will have access to a pool of information gathered through decades of research, professional practice and personal experience.

Because of this, one could expect that Summit attendees will leave with some tools and techniques
in hand to help them devise an approach with the advice of their personal health care team that is
tailored to their particular situation and circumstances.

Moreover, this information is being made available to everyone from the comfort and privacy of
their own home. Not everyone is ready to speak openly about their personal situation which is why
this Summit is designed to allow people to participate anonymously; they can even ask the experts
question, in real time, without revealing any personal information.

Not only will Summit members have live access to the talks, they can also continue to review the
recorded sessions for three months afterwards, meaning that whatever nugget of wisdom they need will be there to be gleaned, even if it is missed the first time around.

Please visit the website now to register your interest or view the schedule of speakers.
I am scheduled to speak on June 21st and look forward to hearing your feedback.