I was watching a documentary on Bruce Lee recently and one of his famous sayings was “be like water”.
He was referring to being able to move as if you were water; pour it into a cup, it will be the cup. Move it into a bottle, it will be the bottle i.e. it is all about having the flexibility to change to the circumstance we find ourselves in. This was one of his secrets to success.
In NLP we have a presupposition; “the element in the system with the most flexibility is the catalyst of the system” (Law of Requisite Variety from System Theory). A bit wordier, however it means the same thing.
How do we become the most flexible element within the system; so that we can become even more successful – to be that catalyst?
NLP teaches us a number of ways to be flexible:
· To realise that we operate from our own perspective; our own map of the world. In other words, we are working from our own subjective view of reality. When we realise this, we can start to discover the other person’s perspective; acting from a place of curiosity rather than judgement. Asking questions to discover their perspective rather than rushing in thinking we are always right.
· To build rapport to enable us to have great relationships; creating trust
with others will enable us to have greater chance of influence within a system.
· To be able to manage our thoughts, behaviours, emotions and thereby outcomes, is one of the greatest ways to enable us to be flexible, no matter what the system looks like.
These are just the first steps to “be like water”; there are many more to learn with NLP. If you are curious to discover more, then please either contact me or book onto our next NLP Taster Course.
Thank you for reading
Emma