Shortcut to developing a strategy
When my son was reprimanded for unofficially getting himself
down to Southampton on a school trip to join his friends and
finding a place to stay, he was in trouble for not doing this
through the official channels and for not letting anyone know
where he was. However, what he was doing was showing great
initiative and determination to get to where to where he wanted
to be. This same son has traveled round the world and is now
working in Australia.I discussed earlier in this chapter the concept of cutting a
groove. We cut grooves that result in resourceful states and we
cut grooves that result in unresourceful states. Given that the
states to which we give our attention are the ones most likely
to be strengthened, this exercise is about identifying a
strategy that leads to a resourceful state so that you increase
the likelihood of having consistency in your ability to choose
this state when you wish.1 Identify a resourceful state that you would like to
experience when you choose, one that you have
experienced before. For example, it might be a state of
confidence, enthusiasm, or motivation.
2Wait until the next time you have this state. (You could
alternatively go back in your thinking to associate into a
time when you had this state previously.)
3 Be aware of what it is like to be in this state—what are you
seeing, hearing, saying to yourself, and feeling?
4 What was the trigger for the state—what set you on a
sequence of getting to this state?
5 What happened next—what did you see/hear/say to
yourself/feel? (If you are not sure just keep the question
“What am I doing in my thinking?” in your mind each time
you experience the state.
6Write down the sequence of thinking patterns so that you
can check it out again the next time you experience it.
7Test to see if you can create the state without the usual
trigger. If it doesn’t work, keep tracking what happens when
you do get the state so you can find the missing pieces.
8 Keep the question “How am I doing this?” in mind.182 NLP AT WORK