Neuro Linguistic Programming

Chapter 8: Understanding to Be Understood: Meta Programs 131

Figure 8-1:
An example
of how hav-
ing an away
from meta
program
regarding
health can
affect your
plans for
weight loss.

Kg

Time

Loss of focus

Panic

On the other hand, if you’re drawn towards a goal, in a particular context,

and are able to keep your eye on the ball, you’re showing more of a towards

propensity.

As a general rule, people move either away from or towards things.

According to Sigmund Freud, your id, which represents your instinctive

urges, moves you towards pleasure or away from pain.

Interestingly, different professions and cultures exhibit a bias for running

towards or away from meta programs. Take the example of conventional

medicine as opposed to alternative practices. Which preference do you think

practitioners from the two camps may have? To give you a hint, conventional

doctors refer to alternative medicine as ‘preventative medicine’. In Romilla’s

assessment, conventional medicine is more prone to having an away from

tendency with regards to health, the emphasis being more on curing the ill-

ness after it happens rather than on focusing on creating and maintaining

good health.

People with away from patterns appear quite negative to those who run

towards patterns.

Away from people have a tendency to notice what can go wrong and are very

useful to employ for maintaining production plants and aircrafts, managing

crises, or conducting critical analysis. These people are motivated more by

the stick than the carrot. You can motivate away from people by threats of

job losses and the negative consequences of not meeting financial targets.