Get The Edge

By Coach Cj Swaby


Constant and Neverending Improvement (C.A.N.I). Those of you that are familliar with Personal Development wizard, Tony Robbins, would have heard him use that phrase time and time again. C.A.N.I is a principle that can be used in all areas of our life simultaneously, not just one aspect. Elevating our standard each day, from our relationships, to our careers and working life, to how fulfilled we are, in who we are.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) fell onto my radar about a few years ago but was something I did not continue investigating as other areas of interest dominated at that time. As a Coach, physical improvement and self empowerment is somthing that I relentlessly persue. Recently, NLP has reared its head and bumped me in the chest again. This time with the help of a friend, repected international Coach and martial artist Eamonn Madded (but more about him in further entries). So WHAT is NLP and HOW can we use it?

NLP has been described as "applied psychology" or a users manual for the brain, it was developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. In their book "Essential NLP" Steve Bavister and Amanda Vickers state that a presuppostition of NLP is

"There is no such thing as failure, only feedback. This leads us to think of mistakes as an opportunity to lear, and encourages us to try new thigns without fear."

So what are the implications of this? well, simply that barriers, or things that were previously holding us back or preventing us from grabbing what we really wanted in life can be chipped away at, or even blown clean out the water, so that we can have a compelling future.

I've seen Eamonn Madden utilise his vast NLP and coaching tool kit to great effect with our world class athletes on The Fighters Development Porgram, plus what little I do know, I have applied to myself and my clients to great effect, to achieve outstanding results.

Is NLP the be all end all in personal development? probably not. Can it be a powerful tool to help exact more from life, and sculpt a future that is more akin to art, then a string of unfulfilled ambition, or a dull existence where you have settled for a mediocrity. I think so.

This weekend I will be attending some free NLP training, with an aim to develop myself as a person and Coach. The course is being run by Toby and Kate Mcartney in London. Toby has promised me an interview, breaking down some great tools for Personal Trainers and Strength Coaches alike. I will be posting that next week on the blog. To find out more about Toby and Katie Mcartney's NLP courses click HERE.

Yours in Strength


Coach Cj Swaby


Uesful Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-linguistic_programming

http://www.tonyrobbins.com/

http://www.brendonburchard.com/

http://www.sportmental.co.uk/