Delving Deeper

"The map is not the territory." -Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American Scientist and Philosopher (1879-1950)

Contrary to popular belief, NLP is not simply a collection of methods, theories and exercises. It is a body of knowledge put into practice by living, breathing human beings in the day-to-day world. Each person and situation is different, so having the skills to adapt theory into present reality is key to becoming a successful coach. This is why the quote "The map is not the territory" is so helpful in understanding NLP, or anything else, in the real world.

Let's say you want to become an expert on the city of Los Angeles. You get a very detailed map and study the points of interest, major arteries and the various neighborhoods. You read about the city's history and memorize tons of numbers about population trends, economic trends and the like. You read guide books even watch movies shot in Los Angeles. Are you now an expert? Who do you think would give a more interesting tour of the city - you or a local?

Let's bring it back to NLP. If you took a year and read every single word ever written on NLP, would you become a great and successful coach? If you built the world's single largest NLP library, would you be in a position to help a client who walked in to your library and asked for advice?

Probably not. Perhaps you could offer advice or provide resources, but you would lack the ability to truly undersand your client and offer them relevant advice - to "get on their level," so to speak. Theoretical understanding, a 'map', is one thing, but the 'territory' of NLP is much deeper than that. You need to get more than your feet wet to truly understand what you are dealing with.

The phrase "The map is not the territory" can also help us deal with another vexing challenge: Reality vs. Perception. Two people can witness the same event, and yet have totally different impressions of what happened. When we are dealing with emotional and psychological issues, the playing field is even more muddled.

Each person's psychological "map" - their perceptions and beliefs - are completely unique. We need to recognize and work with this. You have a different map than your clients and their map is different that yours. Your goal of making progress with them, the territory, will require stepping out of your map and into theirs. You can help them look in new directions, cast light on new ideas and help them overcome limiting beliefs - but not by working solely within your own map.

As you go about your day, you can ponder the following question: How does my own "map" influence the way I am seeing the world around me?