What is Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) ???
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a modeling technology designed to identify and code the specific differences that make the difference between the performance of geniuses and average performers in any field. Created in the early 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, it is defined as the study of the structure of subjective experience.
The name describes the interaction between its three core components:
Neuro: The nervous system and the neurological processes by which we receive, process, and store information from our senses.
Linguistic: The language and other communication systems through which our neural representations are coded, ordered, and given meaning.
Programming: The ability to organize these neurological and linguistic parts into specific sequences or "programs" to achieve a desired goal.
From the combined perspectives of its founders, NLP is not a set of "truths" or a fixed theory, but an attitude of intense and excited curiosity. It is a methodology focused entirely on utility and function—it asks "how" something works rather than "why" it happened. This shift moves the focus from "remedial" problem-solving to generative change, where the goal is to improve something that is already being done well.
A cornerstone of NLP is the principle that "the map is not the territory". This means that human beings do not operate directly on the real world, but instead on internal representations (mental maps) created from sights, sounds, and feelings. Because these maps are often limited or impoverished, NLP provides tools to re-code these internal images—adjusting "settings" like brightness, size, and location—to create new choices and more effective behaviors.
Ultimately, Bandler and Grinder describe NLP as an educational process for learning how to run your own brain. It provides a "calculus" for human excellence, allowing anyone to observe a "wizard" or expert, extract the structure of their talent, and install those same patterns in themselves or others to produce predictable, high-quality results.