Welcome to this free NLP Ezine
Hi everybody, and welcome to "NLP: The Secret Science of Self-
Empowerment." This Ezine is designed to bring to you techniques,
theories and exercises from the fascinating field of Neurolinguistic
Programming.
About This Issue
This week's article is a continuation of the article about "sorting"
from the last issue (May 1st). It discusses ways in which we use our environments
and fellow people to sort the different parts of our personality. I made
it a point to keep it a bit shorter, since I wrote almost 2000 words in
the last issue. If you want to read the first part of this article (Sorting,
Part 1), click
here.
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This Issues Article: Sorting (Part 2)
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Spatial Sorting
There is an entirely different dimension to the NLP concept of sorting
than the one discussed in our last issue (read last issue).
For example, many NLP exercises involve spatial sorting, in which different
positions in a room are used to represent different parts of a person.
By stepping into these positions in turn, people can separate their internal psychology e.g. their focused workaholic part (Position A) from their disorganized lazy part (Position B). By standing in position A and B they can experience these parts separately from each other much in a Dr. Jekyll – Mr. Hide manner. Such spatial sorting also happens automatically and unconsciously in our daily lives, insofar as certain environments activate certain aspects of our personality.
Think about the different environments you spend time in during a normal week. Most likely you will come up with a list including your home, work, friend’s places, sports clubs, recreational areas, and so on. Think about how these environments affect your state, i.e. your emotions and thought process. At work you might be focused, serious and organized, whereas at home you are the opposite (unfocussed, easy-going and disorganized), and then, when walking your dog in the park, you are relaxed and playful. Pay attention to how different environments affect your state. If you don’t like a particular environment/state dependency (e.g. work=stress), and want to make some changes, make an effort to actively choose your state, rather than let your environment determine it for you.
Pay attention to how different environments affect your state. If you don’t like a particular environment/state pair, and want to make some changes, make an effort to actively choose your state, rather than let a place determine your state for you.
Psychodramatic Sorting
Another aspect of sorting relates to psychodrama. To grasp this fascinating
concept, first think of your personality as a group of many different
parts, much like a committee of international leaders sitting at a large
table. Some of these parts like each others, others can’t stand each
other. Some have influence and get a lot of speaking time, others are
pushed into the background and ignored.
For most people it is true, that they have opposing parts in themselves, for example “self-discipline” versus being “indulgent.” One part tells them to work harder and strive for success, the other to relax more and enjoy life. Such polarities can lead to internal conflict where one or more parts of yourself constantly criticize you for what you are or are not doing. To some degree this kind of internal conflict is a natural part of being human, however, when it becomes too intense, extreme behaviors usually are the result.
While the two opposed parts dislike each other and have a dysfunctional relationship internally, the conflict can become an external one quite easily. All that is needed is a person in your environment that embodies the view of one of your two battling parts. Instead of the two opposing parts arguing within yourself, you all of a sudden find yourself in an argument with that person (your spouse, your colleague, your boss, etc.), who personifies one of your two parts. If you don’t pay attention to your internal process, you will not catch the connection between the conflict within yourself and the conflict you are having with a live person.
If you have a "self-discipline versus being unfocussed"- polarity, both a person with great self-discipline and a person that is very unfocussed will irritate you, calling the corresponding ‘opponent’ within you to the forefront. You end up replacing one of your parts with a real person. In this manner, people are using the people around them to fight their internal battles externally. Can you think of any examples in your life that relate to this kind of psychodramatic sorting?
Conclusion
As you can see, the types of sorting discussed above are quite different
from each other. In order to use the concepts of sorting to your advantage,
pay attention to how you sort information (read last issue), how you connect emotions and thought to environments (spatial sorting)
and how/if you are actively involved in a conflict that is a result
of externalizing one of your inner battles (psychodramatic sorting).
Paying attention to how you do what you do is a great way to build self-awareness,
which in time will allow you to discontinue unwanted behaviors and integrate
desired ones.
References:
NLP, Vol I., Dilts, R., Grinder, J. Bandler, R. and J. DeLozier, 1980
People Making, Satir, V., 1972
All the best,
Christoph Schertler
NLP Trainer/Coach - Founder PEC, LLC
Christoph Schertler has published an ebook on how to use NLP to build confidence. The NLP Confidence Builder
contains over 100 pages of powerful NLP techniques and concepts that can help you overcome limiting beliefs and bring forth the life-transforming power of confidence from deep within you.
Christoph Schertler was recently published in "101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Vol. 2" alongside John Gray, Jack Canfield, Richard Carlson, Bob Proctor, Alan Cohen and many other leading Self Improvement experts.
Get your copy today:
About the Author
Christoph Schertler is a certified NLP Trainer and NLP Coach with a passion for helping others to empower themselves and bring forth their power and genius from within. He has trained with some of the biggest names in the field and is a firm believer in the transformational powers of NLP.
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