Coaching with NLP For Dummies®

Creating New Structures to Be More Effective

People who crave freedom and flexibility may cringe at the very mention of discipline and structure. The image of a scowling task master or drill sergeant with a pointy stick may leap to mind.

However, appropriate structures or processes to follow can create self-discipline and create freedom from habits and strategies that don't serve you. These structures remind you to notice your impulses and gut reactions; they loosen the power of such reactions over you. Instead of giving in to something out of habit, the new structures remind you to find other choices. Structures provide the support to make change and achieve your dreams by channelling your impulsive reactions where they can be most effective.

In this section, I introduce several types of structure that can support clients to get the results they desire.

Saying a resounding yes or a definitive no

To say yes to one thing means saying no to another. How you spend your time, money and effort is a simple equation. If you spend it on x, you can't spend it on y.

Susan runs an HR consultancy and like many working mums excels at multi-tasking. She told me how she was decorating the house in between interviewing candidates for a friend's business and periods of long commutes for her own consultancy work. She had a light-bulb moment when I questioned whether one reason she was struggling ...