Everyone is Already Naturally Gifted... and Inconsistent!

You're a diamond! One of nature's greatest creations. Already gifted, already beautiful.

Every natural diamond has imperfections.  Our imperfections make us more interesting to each other!

Our inconsistencies may, however, draw unwanted focus.  They may detract some people from being able to see your overall beauty. You can't do much to change other people's filters fast... but you can smooth out your rough spots and draw more attention to your amazing gifts!

Every diamond, no matter how beautiful it is already, may benefit from having new facets carved, to give people a completely new perspective.

I know there are some who would disbelieve this about themselves, or at a minimum, find it challenging to believe it.

Yes, it is true that some people are beset by huge challenges they can't seem to get around or past.  And that doing so may have felt, or feel, insurmountable.

• Perhaps you're stuck in a job you don't like, in a career that isn't developing as fast as you'd want.
• Perhaps you've been trying for years to fix a difficult relationship, and repeatedly cycling through dysfunctional acts or communication -- or you blame your partner but that's not working either.
• Or maybe you don't know why you're not attracting the relationship or the business you've been wishing for, and don't know what to do to break free of those patterns?
• Can't ever get your kids to do what you want them to do?
• Are you the idea genius who never seems to bring those ideas to fruition?  Worse: is it always someone else's fault that you're not living the life you imagined for yourself?

None of that means you're not a genius inside, somewhere, with something.  All it means is that you're currently practicing less-than-useful habits.  Habits you learned at some time in the past, which obviously served some purpose at the time you developed them.  But you can change your perspective... you can begin to see things differently... and you can build new and more useful patterns of behavior, language, and, of course, results!

And I'm not asking you to blindly believe.  I'm not saying "the secret is..." and then pointing at the idea of 'just believe, and make it so!'  Instead, I'm suggesting some pragmatic ways to move forward.

You Are a GENIUS... possibly waiting to be discovered!  ...Possibly waiting to fire up that genius into action.

As Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Well, you personally are closer to Einstein's level of genius than you may have ever thought possible.

1. Geneticists would say you share 99.9% of your DNA with geniuses like Albert Einstein, or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (While up to several hundred genes may be different).

2. Genius is now heavily associated with high levels of synesthesia.  Synesthesia is the natural link between senses.  "I see what you're saying."  In many geniuses, this seems to have emerged naturally and automatically. But... guess what: It's TRAINABLE!

3. Howard Gardner has been studying "the Theory of Multiple Intelligences” for years. His work currently suggests there are 9 intelligences, and he estimates that there may be many more yet to be found. Perhaps yours is waiting for you or others to discover your personal genius?

So... if you're so close to genius, how come you don't feel like one? Or feel like one, consistently?

And there's the rub:

The problem separating you from genius may simply be: Consistency and Systematization.

You may not yet have direct control or influence over your natural genius.  To enhance this, consider taking NLP training.  Great training can be immensely helpful for finding and enhancing your natural genius, as well as finding new ways to be brilliant!

To become more consistent, you first need to systematize.

To systematize your behavior, language, performance, and results... you can best begin by becoming more aware of what you're doing, what can be improved, what can be added, and what needs to be eliminated.  Part of this involves learning great techniques, or strategies of genius and success.  You can do this with books and DVDs etc.  But then, it's also essential to then refine those techniques with feedback loops that involve information OUTSIDE your own head.  It's not just a bonus -- it's essential, if you want to get beyond adequate, beyond mediocre.

Let me give you an example. You are already GIFTED at what we in NLP refer to as “Anchoring.”  

You might respond with, "What?  GIFTED?  The road to NLP greatness is littered with crappy anchoring examples -- and youtube provides amazing evidence of this.  So how can you say I'm already gifted?"

Anchoring is the process by which we all create associations between stimulus, and response. At its simplest level, think “Classical Conditioning.” Pavlov's dogs, etc. Think of anchoring as Classical Conditioning on steroids. And you've already been doing it all your life.

• Depending on how strongly you've connected with a significant other, you've probably anchored your spouses or lovers to go into a loving or lustful state (response) when hearing your voice or seeing your face (stimulus).

• If you've been repeatedly disappointed by your boss's reviews of your performance in the past, you may have anchored disappointment to the arrival of your boss.  That emotional state will pollute further exchanges, and could negatively affect further reviews.

• Depending on your past performance making cold-calls, you've anchored nervousness, fear, excitement, or motivation (response) to the idea of picking up a phone to make a cold call (stimulus).

• Depending on where you went to school as a kid, you may have anchored WOW (response) to hearing a bell ring at 3pm (stimulus) whenever you're in a classroom. (What if the same bell rang at home at 3pm while you were watching a movie on tv?)

• What response have you anchored to the act of stopping after engaging in an unwanted habit, like eating too much chocolate or staring at an empty tub of ice cream, or empty package of cookies?

There is no end to the associations we create in our minds, naturally, automatically (or accidentally), through normal daily living.

With NLP, we catch a glimpse that we can begin doing this more intentionally. 

We can, in fact, use anchoring to more systematically influence others to live better lives, to perceive us as more valuable, to make a sale more likely, to increase trust and credibility.  And guess what... it works – it works insanely well – and it only works when it's done artfully and well.  Again, check on youtube.  It's usually not demonstrated well.

I believe I do train it well – because I learned a lot about anchoring from my first NLP trainer Rex Sikes, and then became a voraciously experimental communicator.

In the cases of our less useful behaviors and habits and emotional responses -- we might want to learn how to associate different responses to those stimuli.  And we can.  We could, for example...

• Anchor a disinterested (or disgusted) response to the idea of the first spoonful of ice cream or that first cookie.  Or the 2nd or the 3rd while still feeling mostly an empty stomach.  So that you either don't start, or stop after a bite or two.
• Anchor a fabulous and WOW state to the idea of saying NO to that ice cream or cookie.  So that you feel great about having said no!
• Anchor curiosity and ambition to the idea of your boss inviting you in for a review... so that when your boss next sees you, he starts to associate a positive upbeat personality to his memories of your face.  It can't hurt, and it can only help.
• Anchor the smell of money or the enjoyment of hearing yes to the feel of the phone in our hands... so that when we pick up the phone to make a cold call... our voices radiate with fascination with "how can I help someone immensely, today?"

And, I also believe that everyone who hasn't yet taken NLP training... are geniuses already at anchoring. Yet... inconsistent geniuses. In other words, unconsciously a genius, sometimes.  And sometimes, not so much.

So aside from the cases where people aren't training anchoring well, how come sometimes NLP enthusiasts see or hear about anchoring, want to learn it, and are then occasionally not as good at is as they want to be, initially?

Because...

Learning is NOT Linear.  So, to reach greater consistency...

To reach greater consistency, you need to drill and repeat your successful systems, with feedback loops, until you get past being dissociated to the act you're practicing.  That is the required investment for reaching greatness at anything.

Every time you take something you were naturally good at, and unconsciously good at, some of the time... and make it conscious... you pollute the act. The moment you go meta to it, initially, you're no longer fully immersed in and invested in the action. In the doing. And performance suffers.

So even when it's trained exceedingly well... initially... performance is often poor... and what you need to make the leap between poor initial results and WOW results... is fine tuning, coaching, and a wildly fun, supportive environment, where you can feel free to make mistakes without being judged for it (or judging yourself). And that fun... combined with coaching (feedback loops), and repetitious drills... helps you find your natural genius. Here's an example of anchoring, in action, from my recent NLP Practitioner co-training with Rex Sikes back in November 2012.

Sample 1:  Jonathan Anchors Yes/No, Rex recommends systematizing behavior!  4.5 Minutes of Rex & Jonathan.

Sample 2:  Evidence that Anchoring... Works!  2 raucously funny minutes!

I hope you enjoyed the samples.  We're committed to helping each person emerge into the storyline they were meant to live!

For some of you, continuing to read articles like this can help fill in the missing planks on your bridge to greatness.  And that's great!

For others who feel they need something more than that... or they're finally tired of playing the same cycle over and over again:

• If you're dreaming... and idle...
• If you're lonely and don't yet feel like you have the tools and beliefs to find someone wonderful...
• If you're not happy with the way you're treating others, like your spouse, or your kids...
• If you're not in the career you want or need to be in -- the one your heart tells you that you need to pursue...

Then perhaps you need more than just scouring the web for ideas.  Perhaps you need to shake things up and start on a new path!  If that's true, then what do you, personally, dream about doing, becoming, enhancing, eliminating?

Anchoring is just one of many skills that can help you turn things around and establish entirely new patterns that will help you get the results you've been wishing for.  There are pragmatic and measurable skills that await you, and it takes immersion to get great at these.

Come join us!  Get in touch!  We'd like to help you find more natural and consistent access to your own genius! 

Explore our upcoming NLP workshops, and find a fast-track to reaching your goals!

Author: Jonathan Altfeld