Robert Brian Dilts Modeling with NLP

Thomas Jefferson once said, “If two individuals get together and exchange a dollar, they each walk away with one dollar. If the same individuals get together and exchange an idea, they both walk away with two ideas.” In many ways, this statement expresses the vastly generative potential or “economics” of modeling.Modeling is the process of taking a complex event or phenomenon and breaking it into small enough chunks so that it can be recapitulated or applied in some way. Behavioral modeling involves observing and mapping the successful processes which underlie an exceptional performance of some type. The purpose of behavior modeling is to create a pragmatic map or ‘model’ of a particular behavior which can be used to reproduce or simulate some aspect of that performance by anyone who is motivated to do so.The ability to model effectively opens the door to many possibilities that have previously been unavailable to humankind. In addition to providing a methodology which can be used to make ideas more explicit and easier to communicate, modeling can transform the way we view and perceive one another. If we see someone who does something better than ourselves, for example, instead of looking at that person and feeling inadequate, jealous, or suspicious, we can go out and model how they do what they do. Then, we too can have the capability that the other person possesses.The field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) has developed out of the modeling of the behaviors and thinkin...