Anticipating Your Powers with NLP
The rush you get from anticipating is such that you forget everything else and focus on that one thing you are waiting for to happen. It is that feeling you get while waiting for Christmas morn to open your gifts as a kid. It is that over excited emotion you have to contain while waiting for news about your job application, or the giddiness of waiting for your baby to come out of the mother's womb. We have all gone through these feelings and we recognize how powerful they are; yet we have not really harnessed the potential of anticipation to realize the goals we have set for ourselves. With NLP, we can do it.
How Does Anticipation Work?
When something is not handed to you immediately, or you have to wait for a momentous occasion to unfold, there is energy that is built up from frustrating a response and this makes it want to strengthen itself leading to a better result of the anticipated concern. This principle explains how powerful anticipation can be in the achievement of goals and objectives.
Creating Anticipation with NLP
With the power of words as one of the key traits of NLP, there are certain words that help you create this powerful state. They include the adverbs “gradually” and “eventually,” as well as time-related phrases such as “within time,” “over time,” “sooner or later,” and “finally.”
Such words are effective in holding back the response of someone some more. An effective example would be the first bell of a boxing match. The boxers are all riled-up and have really prepared so much for the match, that when they finally hear that bell, all hell breaks loose and you see in every punch the amount of hard work that went into it. Combine your anticipation builders with your action accelerators and there is no stopping you from getting the best results out of your anticipation.
Framing Anticipation
Now that we are clear with how anticipation works, we can imagine the countless possible situations that can be supported with the correct NLP framing. A very important situation may be the one that involves you and your customers and prospects.
The first part is to present your products or services to the deal-breakers. Make sure to get their attention as early as this part. Do not forget to include the main promise, benefits, both side and hidden, and of course the features of your product. After you have given a short presentation about what you are offering, add the magical frame “I wish you could see yourself / experience.”
E.g.
I wish you could see yourself wearing this fabulous gown, sashaying the hallways like they were your runways.
To add to the anticipating effect, you can also embed a command in your framing by saying “I wish you could (EMBEDDED COMMAND) + (Reason why) + (Benefit)
E.g.
I wish you could buy this car today because it might not be available anymore in the near future and this opportunity would have been wasted.
Though the phrases are relatively easy to use, they can be a bit complicated because you run the danger of presupposing failure as well. To prevent this from happening, you must make your prospect imagine the benefits, enabling them to build enthusiasm and anticipation around them.
Other Uses of Anticipation
Building on the enhanced performance that the energy of anticipation gives, below are the possible scenarios that would benefit from the addition of anticipation in the equation.
Fitness Goals – Motivation makes you go the extra mile. Couple that with the power of anticipation and you get really pumped up burn all those unwanted calories. Anticipate the nice clothes and the nice kind of attention you are bound to get.Career Goals – Being stuck in the same job for a long period of time can leave a person demotivated and without direction. It would be nice to think of the respect that a promoted person naturally gets and the financial benefits that go with the higher step you are aiming for.
Relationship Goals – As personal as they may seem, there is no surefire way to find the man or woman of your dreams. Increase your chances of finding the right person thinking of the future you would like to provide and share with your future life partner.
Benefits of Anticipation
Acknowledging the powers that anticipation has on the person who employs it, there are other benefits that come with the use of this powerful tool.
Health Benefits
A study accidentally stumbled upon the health benefits of anticipation while it was being used to determine the effects of napping. Though napping has long been regarded as a remedy high blood pressure, it was uncannily observed that the anticipation of sleep was actually what brings down the high blood pressure of an individual. That it was only during the second phase of sleep when it is about to happen and the person is not actually asleep when the blood pressure went down, cementing the capabilities of anticipation in this area. Working and long-term memory have also been proven to respond positively to anticipation.
Business Benefits
By anticipating the moves of your competitors, you make these entities feel pressured and stress them out, effectively increasing the chances of mistakes being committed by them. Anticipation gives your competitors the idea that you know and understand your business very well which can instill fear in some of your competitors too. This way of thinking can also be expected in sales. If your competitor finds out how hard you are anticipating the signing of the deal, they may not even try anymore to compete with you.
Personal Breakthrough
A lot of areas in our lives just need that nudge to make you finally move and make things happen. By just imagining the benefits of the goals you have in life, you get motivated to really do something about them. Though it is really helpful, do not fall into the trap of anticipating trouble. That is technically called worrying and might just negate all the progress you have made and bring your back to square one.
If you want to harness the power of anticipation to accomplish breakthroughs, join Jacky Lim in one of his NLP Sharing Sessions. Call us now or simply fill-out our inquiry form to book the seat reserved just for you!