28/02/2024
This Issue’s Coaching Expert -
Aric Mussman
Aric is a successful NLP coach whose
client base includes Olympic athletes,
Grammy nominated musicians and
A list celebrities. He owns numerous
multimillion dollar businesses throughout
the United States and Mexico and he is
currently writing his first book which will
be published later this year.
Are you an NLP or Coaching Expert?
Are you interested in becoming a contributor to this column? We are looking for experts who apply NLP techniques in a variety
of contexts, including business, education, coaching, therapy, and personal growth. If this is you, please send an email to
editor@aiponline.org. Include your bio and a link to your professional website or LinkedIn profile.
This time of year a lot of my clients,
friends and family are talking about
building new habits and making changes
in their lives. A new year is a new start
and all of the gyms in town are crowded.
Health food aisles in the grocery store
are full of confused looking people who
haven’t spent much time there and
walking paths have more traffic than
ever. Pretty much everyone knows it will
be short lived though and in just a matter
of weeks it will all go back to normal.
Why is this? And more importantly how
can we actually create long lasting habits
and make the changes that we desire?
To understand this I like to teach my
clients a metaphor;
Imagine you’re living in a tribe out in
some remote jungle thousands of years
ago. One day you decide that you want
to go out exploring. You’re feeling extra
adventurous and you go farther than
you’ve ever gone before. Hours pass
and you continue walking, moving through
treacherous terrain and thick wooded
forest when all of a sudden around a
bend you see it! The most beautiful
waterfall that you’ve ever seen! It takes
your breath away and you can’t believe
what you’ve found. You carefully retrace
your footsteps, get back to your village
and tell everyone about your discovery.
The next day a handful of people go
with you, bringing machetes to help cut
through the brush. It’s rugged and takes
time, but eventually you get there. Each
day more and more people go and the
waterfall becomes easier and easier to
access. As time goes by a distinct path
is created. Eventually a 5 foot wide trail
is formed and a journey that used to be
quite difficult is now fast and easy.
This is how our patterns work. You
may have the desire and intention to
start something new in your life, but a
new path must be formed. You already
have multiple very easy paths that have
been created throughout your entire
life and it’s a lot simpler to just take one
of those. Your unconscious mind even
automatically goes down those paths just
like it has countless times before. In order
to create a real habit and real change
you have to consciously choose to take
a new path, knowing that it will be difficult
at first. You have to be ready with your
machete and the knowledge of knowing
that it will get easier the more you do it.
Then one day, your new trail that you’ve
made becomes the easy one. The old trail
that you used to take has been desolate
and now trees and plants have returned
making it harder to use.
Here are some tips to help make sure
that you’re successful.
1. You will have an easier time if you
have allies that are going to the
same destination. Be diligent about
who you surround yourself with and
make sure that the people walking on
your path actually want to go to the
same place. If they want to go down
old familiar trails then sometimes
it’s better to walk alone or find other
friends with similar goals.
2. Know that the rewards far outweigh
the effort. With just a little consistency
and willpower your life can change
immensely in only a few short months
and the benefits will last the rest of
your life.
3. Create a daily check list of things
that you will commit to and make a
promise to yourself that you will do
everything on the list come rain or
shine. No excuses! Don’t put too
many things on the list! Start small
and get some wins, then add more
as things become habitual.
Happy new year! I truly hope that this is
one of your best years so far and if I can
help support you in any way feel free to
reach out.