NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Somebody brought this up on this site. So lets have a quick look at it.

The idea behind NLP is that we can wipe out our negative programming by overlaying it with positive experiences. When the idea was still new I was a big fan too. Why not? A positive outlook without having to revisit our traumas and fears. It was and still is I think a big thing on the WWW.

However over the years I see that the proponents have directed the skills learned from NLP to jedi mind tricking others. I know many of them. It simply doesnt work the way it is supposed to. Traumas are too well ingrained like a deep groove in a record.

When I was in construction, our major focus was in securing contracts but not in the execution of the work. Jedi mind trick. When I was in PICA the focus was not to see what you can do in the position to improve chess but what the position can do for you. Jedi mind trick. Form not substance.

So I hope you can see that Jedi mind tricks has limited use. You get the contract and then you mess up the job thus ensuring you have more difficulty getting the next one. You get the post but you dont get strong players because you havent put in the time to think of development. So you ensure you have a tough and miserable time in that chair as you are constantly criticized.

Jedi mind tricks(NLP) do work. Of course it does. That is why it is so successful. But up to a point. When you meet that GM who does not fall for Jedi mind tricks anymore, the question now becomes can you play chess? So why dont we focus on that a little more. We need to develop substance too.