NLP Axioms: Basic Presuppositions

What are the axioms of NLP, and what do you need to make everything I write about actually work? None of this is the absolute truth; it may even be a lie. But if a lie works, why not believe in it?

Every science is based on a set of fundamental assumptions—axioms. NLP is no exception, but here these assumptions are called basic presuppositions, honoring tradition and reflecting some psychological nuances of how they are “embedded” and applied in life.

1. The map is not the territory.
   This means that our perceptions of reality always differ from reality itself, as well as from the perceptions of others. We interact with the world using our own “maps” (models of the world) as intermediaries. Accepting this presupposition helps avoid many misunderstandings in communication. In fact, most problems can be solved by changing our internal reality.
2. Mind and body are parts of a single system.
   In short:
   • You can judge a person’s inner world by their appearance.
   • By changing something in the body, we can solve psychological issues.
   • Our mood affects our thinking.
   • We can manage emotions through muscle tension.
   • By triggering a certain internal state, we can change, for example, our walk—and vice versa.

   Everything is interconnected and mutually influential!

3. All our life experience is encoded in the nervous system.
   Any past experience can be accessed and relived. This is encouraging: “my years are my wealth”—and my resources, both informational and emotional. Information is experience; emotions are energy. Interestingly, the way our life experience is encoded can be re-encoded. For example, negative experiences can be turned into pure information—a kind of neuro-linguistic reprogramming.
4. Subjective experience can be broken down into images, sounds, sensations, taste, and smell.
   This axiom is the key to the previous one: it reveals how our life experience is actually encoded. At first glance, this seems obvious, unless you consider that NLP practitioners even describe “extrasensory” experiences through ordinary senses—the five senses. And they do it quite successfully.
5. The meaning of communication is the response you get.
   This is the most communication-focused presupposition—the foundation of any effective interaction. In communication, an NLP practitioner prioritizes the other person’s reaction to their words and actions, judging the effectiveness of communication by that response. If the reaction isn’t what you want, change your behavior until you get the desired one. No blame necessary.
6. There is no failure—only feedback.
   This presupposition is for the most goal-oriented. In communication, it ties in perfectly with the previous point. In other areas, it adds optimism and new insights. In fact, from this perspective, failures are more useful than successes: they give us reasons (and opportunities) for self-improvement.
7. Every behavior has a positive intention.
   The key here is to separate behavior from intention—what a person does from why they do it. Asking “why?” takes us to a higher level of thinking, where we can see new behavioral options. Whether to choose a “good” or “bad” motive is a matter of conscious choice. NLP practitioners prefer to look for the positive. To make it easier, mentally add “for them”: after all, people rarely wish themselves harm—unless it’s with a positive intention.
8. Every behavior is the best choice available at the time.
   Everything we do is the result of conscious or unconscious choice. It’s natural to assume we choose the best option available to us. If there were a better option, we’d use it. This leads to a fundamental meta-strategy for changing unwanted behavior: add more effective choices to a person’s “map.” As NLPers joke, NLP isn’t surgery—it doesn’t cut anything out, it only adds. If the new option turns out to be less effective, you can always go back to the old behavior or look for a new one.
9. Everyone has all the resources they need.
   If a person sets a goal for themselves, you can be sure they have everything they need to achieve it. As Richard Bach wrote in “Illusions”: “We are given the desire together with the means to fulfill it.” You can argue with this, especially if you’re not willing to make any effort. Still, this presupposition is genuinely helpful, and everyone can recall times when a goal seemed impossible—until it was achieved.
10. The universe is a friendly, resource-rich environment.
    Especially when you live by the basic NLP presuppositions! Then every event is a gift from the world. You can accept it with gratitude and use it as needed. Or you can call it a blow of fate or a cunning trick of destiny. But really, life gives you what you expect from it. If you want a gift, you’ll get one. The universe is friendly.