Belief Structure
Beliefs can be divided into two groups:
“rules of life” - how it works;
“categorization” - what is what.
Belief
the reason tells what needs to be done to achieve the value;
about the consequence - what will happen after achieving the value;
about criteria - what must happen so that it can be decided that the value is satisfied;
definition - what this value is;
category assignment - which category the object belongs to.
Beliefs and health.
Beliefs are our guiding principles.
We act as if they are true, regardless of whether they actually are true. NLP takes a pragmatic view of beliefs: they are the principles by which we act, and not necessarily the ones we talk about. Beliefs are generalizations based on past experiences that shape future reactions. They also have no logic. They cannot be proven. They are working hypotheses that we construct for everyday life. How healthy do you think you are? There are interesting studies by epidemiologists in which subjects were asked to rate their general condition as excellent, good, fair or poor. This self-assessment turned out to be an excellent predictor of how long they lived. Moreover, gender, education, income level and age did not matter. Those people who believed they were in poor health were three times more likely to die over the next seven years. What we believe has a much greater impact on our health than any objective measurement.
People with arthritis and high blood pressure may rate their health as good, while those with a mild cold may rate their health as poor. Could this be possible? Yes, because health is a subjective experience, your daily reality, and not something that can be measured and compared with other people.
The degree of health you define for yourself depends on the facts you use as evidence and the comparisons you make. It's important to remain realistic here. If by health we mean five years of all sorts of illnesses, and even the ability to run a marathon, then most likely very few will be able to consider themselves healthy. But if health is defined as balance and the ability to restore and maintain health on one’s own, then it becomes possible to remain a truly healthy person, who may sometimes get sick. Unrealistic comparisons distort our perceptions, which in turn affects our health. As you define health, build a belief about it. Your beliefs about your own health affect how long you live.
Rules of life
These are beliefs about “rules of interaction with values.” Value is a category of things that are important to us. Beliefs of this type describe what to do with this category. Since values are very general concepts, beliefs also describe fairly large generalizations.
— To succeed you need to work hard. [to obtain the value "success" you need to "work hard"]
— Money is a sign of a successful business. [having “money” is the criterion for a “successful business”]
— Cancer leads to death. [“cancer” leads to the achievement of the anti-value “death”]
— Freedom is the opportunity to be who you want. [definition of the value “freedom”]
Cause-effect
These beliefs describe what you need to do to get into the category (satisfy the value) and what will happen if you receive this value. For example, the value “popularity”.
Reason : “In order to become popular, you need to work hard.”
Corollary : "Popularity leads to loss of common sense."
A characteristic feature of this type of belief is the presence of a sequence - one comes after the other: “alcoholism leads to death,” “love causes happiness.”
The “cause-effect” type includes ought beliefs:
- I have to work hard.
- He is forced to try.
- I can't be late.
It’s just that the second part is usually “lost” in these beliefs: what will happen if you don’t do it (or do it).
— To get a promotion, I have to work hard.
- In order not to stay for a second year, he is forced to try.
- I can’t be late - I can get fired for being late.
In the meta-model, to restore the full form of beliefs of this type, a reaction to the pattern “modal verb of obligation or necessity” is used.
Complex equivalent
Another type of belief “equates” different elements with each other. These include beliefs about criteria (how will I know when a value is satisfied?) and definition (what is it?).
Criteria: “If they constantly talk about you, invite you to different places and want to communicate with you, then you are popular.”
Beliefs about criteria usually assume that all criteria must be met: “Success is when you have a lot of money, everyone respects and envy you.” If at least one of the criteria is not met, then the value has not been achieved. You won’t be able to understand just from a phrase whether a person has mentioned all the criteria - you need to additionally collect information.
Definition: “Popularity is when you are the center of attention.”
As the name suggests, this belief “explains” what a value is.
Definition beliefs often link values together: “Love is happiness,” “truth is a necessity,” and so on.
Concept of persuasion
What is belief? This is a manifestation and generalization of life experience. How to influence self-affirmed hopelessness, undeservingness, helplessness? Here are a few points:
- Turn bad luck into good luck;
- Use a belief system;
- See through time;
- Go back to the past to look for a reason;
- Setting realistic goals for a short time.
Failures become a resource for finding the right answers. A wrong decision deflects a certain branch, directing you to the true path. Mistakes provide an opportunity to ensure that you are one step closer each time. If you do nothing, there is no guarantee of success.
Dilts carefully leads to an explanation, describing the situation and using a visual picture. A return to the past - a film replayed many times, a spatial view - the other side of the mirror, quickly approaching tasks - a weekly schedule of the daily routine. The exercises given in the book involve a complex stage of cognition and gradually, destroying previous stereotypes, lead to new beliefs, no longer generalized, but personally analyzed by the person himself.
"Categorization"
These beliefs describe what is what, what belongs to what category. That is, for which “things” which rules are fulfilled (or not fulfilled).
Actually, all statements like “I am a genius”, “she is beautiful”, “all cats are cute”, “I don’t like blondes”, “I like burritos” are beliefs about attitude to the category. That is, a person places himself in the “genius” category, “her” in the “beauty” category, and blondes in the “don’t like” category. As you can imagine, all identity beliefs are of this type: “I am a genius,” “he is an idiot,” “I am a motorcycle racer.”
— Petrov is a successful businessman. [“Petrov” is included in the category of “successful businessmen”]
— Mercedes produces good cars. [cars falling into the “good cars” category]
- I don't deserve happiness. [“I” do not fall into the “deserving of happiness” category]
— Health is important. ["Health" is included in the "important" category]
The full form for this type of belief must include a rationale for why “A is in category B”—usually a statement of satisfaction of the criterion: “Petrov is a successful businessman because he has a million-dollar net worth.”
Identity
The most important among this type of beliefs would be the identity beliefs : “I am a good swimmer.”
Please note that if a person has assigned himself to a category (identity), then formally all beliefs about this value must be fulfilled:
— I am a good swimmer because I trained a lot. [cause]
— I am a good swimmer, so I am invited to important competitions. [consequence]
— I am a good swimmer, because I can swim a hundred meters and not get out of breath. [criteria]
— I am a good swimmer, which means that I swim better than most other people. [definition] But in reality, things are often not quite like that - and this can be used to change or strengthen a belief.
The role of beliefs
Dilts explains that a belief a person has does not change his behavior. For example, the existence of God. No one will ever prove the truth. Everything depends on faith. Or the attitude of a cancer patient to the news received about the extent of the disease. Someone takes what is said as a verdict, folds their hands and waits for the end to approach, others begin to look for mistakes, change their worldview, attitude towards life and recover from severe advanced forms. In medicine, the concept of “placebo effect” is known - treatment without drugs. A third of patients recovered with ordinary vitamin tablets.
Limiting and Expanding Beliefs
Limiting beliefs “get in the way” of living, while supportive beliefs “help”.
Consider that in different contexts and at different times, the same belief can be empowering (helpful) and limiting (harmful). The belief “you can’t talk to strangers on the street” can be supportive for a teenage girl and limiting for an adult woman.
There are some types of beliefs that most often turn out to be harmful (limiting).
Hopelessness
The conviction that the desired goal is not achievable, regardless of your capabilities.
- No one can be completely happy.
“It’s impossible to be free in this country.”
- People can't help but lie.
Helplessness
The conviction that the desired goal is achievable, but you are not able to achieve it.
“I’m no longer at the age to start my own business.”
“Some people can enjoy life, but I can’t.”
- I am not able to control myself.
Worthlessness
The belief that you do not deserve a desired goal because of your own qualities or behavior.
- I'm not worthy of you.
- I don't deserve to be happy.
- I'm not good enough for this position.
Addiction
The conviction that a goal can only be achieved with someone's help.
- You will only be happy with me.
- Only in our company will you be able to realize your potential.
- Only our medicine will help you cure cancer.
Close connection between belief, ability and behavior
Dilts advocates that beliefs should lead a person to action that can be taught by a specialist. There is no way to lose weight without a nutritionist. At first, the person who wants to really begins to lose weight, but ignorance in the nutrition system returns the number of kilograms. Disappointment sets in, conviction weakens, and weight rapidly begins to grow, significantly exceeding the previous norm.
With strong conviction, sometimes one develops one’s own path of knowledge, but it is much slower and more tortuous. You will have to work hard before the achieved goal matches the expected result. This tactic has the right to life, but it is dangerous due to the loss of one’s own opinions, some values and attitude towards oneself. Under the influence of the skillful actions of a specialist, the gap between belief and behavior is reduced. For example, a novice musician will quickly master the instrument with an experienced teacher, believe in talent and learn the correct technique, which gives new development.
Recommended books
Robert Dilts. Language Tricks: Changing Beliefs with NLP
Robert Dilts. Changing Beliefs with NLP
Richard Bandler. Technology of Persuasion (The Art of Persuasion)
Steve Andreas. Transformation of Self: Become the person you want to be
Gil Anderson. Think, try, develop
Steve Andreas. Six blind elephants
NLP Manipulations
The dark side of neurolinguistic programming is various manipulations. There are a huge number of options for manipulating other people, and this manifests itself in business, in relationships, in advertising, on TV, and sometimes even our loved ones try to manipulate us.
Manipulation is an action aimed at a person in order to force him to unconsciously perform actions against his own will for the benefit of another. Therefore, it is important to recognize such actions and be able to prevent them. In fact, there are many ways of manipulation and most likely there will be a separate article about this. Now I will briefly describe only a few of them.
- In radio and television advertising, methods are often used to impose the need to purchase a particular thing, instilling its necessity through all the main channels of human perception: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Plus, there is repeated repetition of commercials, which implants in my brain the idea that if I think about it so often, then I definitely need it. And very often our choice is a marketing ploy imposed on our subconscious. Protection against this type of manipulation is to check yourself for the need for a purchase. Do I really need this and what will I lose if I don’t buy this thing or service?
- Calibration, adjustment and maintenance . A typical type of manipulation in NLP. When the interlocutor scans you, your posture, gestures, breathing rhythm, mood, etc. and adapts to you according to certain parameters, imitating actions, phrases, and rhythms similar to yours. Sometimes this is done very subtly, which is almost impossible to notice. Having adjusted correctly, the manipulator begins to lead you into the state, mood and decision he needs. In such cases, if for some reason a complete stranger has recently appeared on your board and you intuitively feel that you are being followed, then simply reset his settings. Suppose you urgently need to leave, make a call, want to go to the toilet, etc. Leave contact, catch your breath, assess the situation and return. You can also throw off the manipulator with a sharp and unexpected question. For example, the best way to get out of hypnosis of a gypsy is to ask “how is your husband?”, “Isn’t he hitting?” Surprise knocks the swindler out of a dominant position.
- Four yes. You are told three phrases to which you in any case answer “yes,” even if unconsciously. And in the fourth phrase there is a statement necessary for the manipulator, which in most cases is swallowed by your unconscious as true.
- Imposition of choice (illusion of choice.) The manipulator initially makes some statement that is pleasant for you, for example: how good you look today. You like the compliment and you already subconsciously sympathize with such a person. Next, the manipulator asks: “When is it convenient for you to drive up to him. Tomorrow or Monday? Thus, creating a trap for consciousness, allowing you to make a choice as if on what day you will arrive, while the most important question of whether you will arrive at all or not has supposedly already been decided. Thus, it deceives you.
- Obfuscation of logic. They start talking to you in phrases that defy common logic. For example: “When you go up the left side down the stairs, we become aware of the bitter smell of pleasure from being scared.” From such a phrase, the brain tries to recreate the connection between words and meaning, and you fall into a trance. Next comes a statement using timbre and intonation that directly penetrates your unconscious.
The basis of defense against any manipulation is the knowledge that such manipulations exist, the ability to recognize and defeat them. And most importantly, ask yourself, do I really want this, do I need this. Trust your intuition and keep a cool head.
On this topic
Article:: Systematic approach to working with beliefs Article:: Mental maps, thought viruses and health Article:: Important things about values, criteria and beliefs Article:: Meaningless values Article:: Body editing Article:: NLP: Communication structure Course:: Focus language: structure of beliefs Technique:: Museum of Old Beliefs Technique:: Reimprinting Handouts:: Changing Beliefs Book:: The Art of Persuading Book:: Language Tricks: Changing Beliefs with NLP Book:: Changing Beliefs with NLP
How does NLP work?
Our attitudes, strong ideas, exist in our consciousness as certain images filled with semantic content.
These meanings are conveyed verbally in communication, so they can be established by examining the speech of the interlocutor. Accordingly, with the help of language constructs you can influence your own and others’ beliefs and habits. How can you change them using the right words and phrases?
With the help of NLP, you can change your own state by influencing the content of your consciousness and changing it. To understand how to change your beliefs, you must first define them very precisely. For example, does going to work tomorrow give you unpleasant feelings that you would like to get rid of? Try to draw on a piece of paper how the word “tomorrow” feels to you. Draw your “tomorrow” in the color that most accurately conveys your associations with this word, determine the size and style of writing the letters in this word.
After completing this work, pay attention to all those symbols of hostility that you depicted, and then draw an image that would be completely opposite, that is, make the word “tomorrow” filled with happy and joyful symbols. Use a color associated with joy, soft, round, light letters.
See how your condition has changed. It is impossible not to notice that thinking began to work differently, thoughts began to come that something positive might await you tomorrow. Your mood clearly improves after performing even such a small action.
This is how NLP accomplishes belief change.
Beliefs of medicine.
Current principles of the existing Western model of medicine.
Disease is a pathological process in which the human body goes beyond the limits of biologically defined norms.
It can be caused by too much of something (eg, ultraviolet radiation, cholesterol).
It can be caused by too little of something (eg vitamins, minerals, insulin).
It can be caused by something dangerous in its properties (bacteria, viruses, radiation).
All diseases have a biological cause.
Ailments and diseases are hidden in the patient's body.
The original cause of the disease usually enters the patient's body from the outside world.
Treatment involves physical intervention (eg, surgery, drugs) to remove or weaken what is causing the disease.
It is considered possible through medical research to find a cure for any disease inherited by the flesh.
Doctors know everything about diseases. They are experts in their field. The patients don't know anything.
Doctors deal with diseases and illnesses. Patients are people who carry illness and disease within themselves. That's why doctors deal with people.
These are limited but very common beliefs. If they are changed and expanded, then we need to understand what their impact is, how we think about health and what we do when we get sick.
