To hold these beliefs is to be at
one with yourself❏ The person with the most flexibility in thinking and
behavior has the greatest influence. If what we are doing
isn’t working, then the more choices we have the more
likely we are to find a way that does work.
❏ Mind and body are part of the same system. And if we
listen to our bodies they can tell us what our minds need to
know. Hold this belief and learn to listen to the wisdom of
your body.
❏ Knowledge, thought, memory, and imagination are the
result of sequences and combinations of ways of filtering
and storing information. If we learn what those sequences
and combinations are (the programs), we can influence
what is and isn’t working for us and do something about it.Take any compassionate leader. Take any founder of a
successful startup. Take anyone who is creating a new
business—and you will find a core of these beliefs. Take
anyone who is thriving and enjoying life and contributing to
the world at large and who rides the waves of change, and you
will find that they hold these kinds of beliefs. To hold these or
similar beliefs is to be at one with yourself.
To explore the effect of these beliefs we do not have to
absolutely believe them initially—we can presuppose them,
think about them as if they were true. In this way we can
discover what effect they have on our life before we choose to
adopt them on a more permanent basis. By presupposing any
belief we begin to take on the ways of thinking and behaving
that are characteristic of the models of excellence.Jane was a newly appointed manager of a high-class London
store. The items for sale consisted of jewelry and expensive
leather goods and were displayed in glass cabinets. Closing
time was six o’clock. Exactly at that time one of Jane’s staff,
Robert, would start locking the cabinets whether or not there
were customers still in the store. Jane disapproved: She disliked
the impression this gave to the customers. She wanted Robert to
lock the cabinets, but only after all the customers had left.236 NLP AT WORK