[Neurons] 2019 Neurons #52 DISTINGUISHING PRESENT AND DESIRED STATES

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

2019 Neurons #52

November 25, 2019

How to be a 

Professional Communicator #7

 

THE SEVENTH DISTINCTION

OF A PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATOR

 

 

Distinction #7: DISTINGUISHING CURRENT AND DESIRED STATE

The final distinction required for becoming more professional communicator
is the current / desired state differentiation.  This is the ability to look
at yourself and others and to recognize the temporal dimensions of
experience (i.e., past - present - future).  Again, let's begin with some
definitions for clarity.

 

For the current state, ask: Where are we now?  Where are you now?  What's
currently going on?  What are the challenges, problems, constraints, pros
and cons, etc. of the current situation?  To be able to do this as a
communicator requires of you the ability to be present, to come into the
now, to acknowledge and accept whatever is for whatever it is without
needing to defend, argue, rationalize, or use any other ego-defense
mechanism.  Obviously, to do this takes a lot of ego-strength-the strength
to accept what is without caving in or going into a fight/flight type of
response.

 

Can you be present?  That question sounds like an obvious, and even as a
rhetorical, question.  It is not.  Coming into the here-and-now is one of
the most difficult things for anyone of us to do.  Why is that?  We
remember!  We understand things today through previous experiences-
experiences which we now use as references for interpreting things.  In this
way, the past is part of the present in our perceptual filters and why we
need to distinguish the two.

 

Communicating about the present state includes two additional factors-
symptoms and causes.  Symptoms are the symptomatic problems that may arise-
emotions, behaviors, consequences.  Causes refer not to the past but to the
meaning frames that hold the way to interpret something.

 

The past refers to what has been, where you have been, and the factors which
have contributed to bring you to where you are today.  The past is where you
have learned what you know and which colors your perspectives today.  There
are several problems in thinking about the past.  First, how we remember the
past is highly vulnerable to what and how we think today.  That is, your
current understandings, beliefs, values, etc. color your memories so "the
past" is not as it was.  It keeps changing.  It's the nature of human memory
to change as we keep learning.

 

The desire state is another time dimension-it speaks of the future.  This is
the dimension of imagining and envisioning by which you create the future
you want to move to.  You elicit this when you ask:

Where do you want to go?  Where will you go if you don't make a change?  How
will you get there?  What's involved in the journey?  What resources do you
need?  What are the steps and stages along the way?  How will you know when
you get there?

 

Whatever you have learned is time-dated.  That's why whenever you learn
something, it would be a great idea to stamp an expiration date on that
learning.  That's because what you have learned often becomes out-dated,
redundant, and irrelevant.  It does for all of us.  While some learnings are
forever, most are not.  Things keep changing, new things come into play.

 

Further, thinking about the future is itself problematic.  That's because it
is highly unpredictable, much more so than most of us suspect.  In fact,
because our brains are designed as "anticipation machines" we suffer the
cognitive fallacy of believing and trusting our predictions.

 

To move from your current state, to your desired state, you need problem
solving skills.  In NLP, we do this by beginning with a well-formed outcome
and use the precision questions to clearly define what you want.  Then in
Neuro-Semantics we move to construct a well-formed problem statement.  Doing
that prevents us from attempting to solve pseudo-problems.  Otherwise, you
may be trying to work on a mere symptom, a paradox, or the wrong problem.
Next comes creating a well-formed solution and innovation. 

 

This distinction also keeps problems and solutions separate.  You clearly
define both to think and communicate strategically as you develop the plans,
tactics, and resources for making a dream come true.  This distinction
enables you to synergize your away-from and toward motivational energies so
that you build up a propulsion system and that integrates both aversions and
attractions.

 

 

[For more, see Creative Solutions.  You will find in that book the structure
of a well-formed problem, well-formed outcome, well-formed solution, and a
well-formed innovation.]




 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Neuro-Semantics

P.O. Box 8

Clifton CO. 81520 USA

www.neurosemantics.com   look for the special offer

 

Author of the stunning new history of NLP--- NLP Secrets.  

Investigative Journalism which has exposed what has been kept secrets for
decades. 

http://www.neurosemantics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NLP-Secrets-2_sml2.
png

 

 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist8.pair.net/pipermail/neurons/attachments/20191125/32f5857b/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 137551 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist8.pair.net/pipermail/neurons/attachments/20191125/32f5857b/attachment-0001.png>