A Year of NLP
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This document introduces a book containing poems, with one poem for each month of the year, that are intended to provide NLP techniques and perspectives to read on Sundays. Each poem is broken into verses that can be read individually. The introduction explains that the poems are meant to provide hope, perspective and new ways of thinking throughout the year in a quick and impactful format. It encourages readers to revisit and reflect on the verses over time to gain deeper insights.
A Year of NLP
- 1. Linda R. Ferguson AYear of NLP A Thought for Every Sunday in 2020
- 2. Welcome to A Year of NLP It’s likely that you’re looking forward to some tips and techniques that will improve your feelings or your results. You’re hoping that I have something in this book that will make a difference in your understanding of how people work. And you’d like to understand quickly, because you have so much that needs to be done. I get that. That’s why this is a book of poems. They work fast and they work deep. I know you probably don’t think you read poems but you do look at the quotations on social media posts. Poetry isn’t what it used to be. It’s often just a few words and a picture that make you smile or think. There’s a poem here for every month of the year, and you don’t have to read a whole poem at once. You can think of them as a collection of Facebook posts, and just read one every Sunday. You can even skip around and read the verse for your next vacation or your birthday or someone else’s birthday. Each verse is part of a poem, but each verse will also give you something good when you read it on its own. Every Sunday, you can read a few words that represent an NLP technique applied to the time of year and the theme of the poem. We begin with “Cold Starts” in January, because don’t you hate getting out of bed when it’s dark and cold? I do, too. Yet January is also a great time to get icy clear on what you want and what you value. And after working through all four seasons, we will end back in December with the season of lights. If you’re a person who journals, consider writing about the Sunday verse two or three different times. We are not good at repeating ourselves. Revisiting a thought invites new insights. You can dig deeper the second or third time. Or write about two verses together and find out how they speak in connection. You can read the whole of each poem, and notice how the parts build the theme. You can read all of the poems, and get a feeling for the whole of your year in just a few minutes. This book is not a monument; it’s a set of building blocks. When you need hope, you’ll find it here. When you need perspective, you’ll find that here too. When you need a reframe or a shift or a new point of view, you’ll find those are all here. This is a book of NLP tools. They just look like poems.
- 3. January Cold Starts January 5 Room temperature is lower than womb temperature From the beginning, we start cold It is movement that makes us warm. January 12 You’ll wait a long time for the perfect time Every hot streak starts With getting out of a warm bed And making something happen. January 19 It’s not just cold; it’s dark in the morning You tap your phone to light the way to the coffee Knowing a small light is enough To show you the next step. January 26 The circumstances in winter Are always wrong. It’s too dark, too cold, too messy Start anyway. Your inner climate Is warmed by will, not won’t.
- 4. February We Is A Magic Word February 2 We are not alone Born into connection So we can borrow strength February 9 Do something together Movement drives connection Learn from one another. February 16 Family is a state of mind A connection we build With heart and hope February 23 At the centre is you You conduct your connections Their voices, your music.
- 5. March Slower Than You Hoped March 1 Spring will come but almost always it comes with uncertainty slower than you hope March 8 You cannot make change safe or certain When you experiment Failures are teachers too March 15 Frustration won’t last forever You will break through with unsteady steps Falling forward, failing forward March 22 Sharpen your eyes and open your ears Give up what you know to discover Signs of what you hope March 29 Knowing change is almost upon you Feel your breath and find your balance Gather yourself for the spring ahead.
- 6. April Recalibrate April 5 Ask what comes next as if you did not know as if a new path might appear April 12 Expectations are grimy windows If you did not already know What else would you notice? April 19 Never ignore what shines You cannot replicate What you do not observe April 26 Both hopes and fears Are seeds fertilized with attention What are you growing?
- 7. May Small Wins May 3 There’s nothing insignificant About starting small It takes acuity to see new growth May 10 When you are not seeing progress It is time to make some A small step is an act of power. May 17 Luck is like four leafed clovers You find it by looking for it A reward for active optimism. May 24 Success sometimes arrives Like rain on a long weekend A messy messenger of growth. May 31 Engage enthusiastically in your process Joy comes from engagement Achievement is a by-product.
- 8. June Momentum June 7 It’s easier to keep on moving Than it is to start cold So take that next step. June 14 A checklist makes it easier To make your next choice A good choice. June 21 Get outside for some tree time Remember to balance on your roots And reach for the sunshine. June 28 Don’t go with the flow Be the stream itself Inevitably in motion.
- 9. July In Flow July 5 To be sense-able is to give up analysis seek out what you want five times over one sense at a time. July 12 Suddenly, a sensation Pulls you out of presence Into memory so clear and real You can use its power July 19 Laughter releases us into connection We grow through the strengths of our friends Not leaning but leaping July 26 Take your old ideas out of the box Side by side they look different Unfamiliar enough To generate possibility
- 10. August A Discovery of Edges August 2 It’s the season for beach walks where opposites meet pull and release August 9 On patios and picnic blankets The world turns inside out Exposed and relaxed August 16 Power and freedom meet at an edge Like the shifting between sand and sea Experienced through bare soles August 23 The rhythm at the edge Alternately insists and soothes Integrates air and skin and sea August 30 In integration, we find Not strength or achievement But the energy in between.
- 11. September Reconnect September 6 New schedule, new routine, new rhythms The familiar rush of return To the work of connection. September 13 What’s different as you step Away from the edges Your eyes on the horizon? September 20 Feel the beat of your breath An equinox of self and world A syncopated give and take. September 27 A new pulse pushes to your skin Mental muscles tensing and relaxing Exploration pulls toward discovery.
- 12. October Collaborate October 4 Resources grown in solitary reflection in individual analysis and vision are best when gathered with a group. October 11 Appreciation hangs from two threads Perception and intention If you don’t know why it’s good You won’t be thankful. October 18 What you appreciate grows The strength you recognize stabilizes In the person observed And also in you. October 25 In a team, each individual achievement Is a note in a chord Shared goals and shared strengths Are also self discovery.
- 13. November Loose Ties November 1 To explore beyond the limits Of comfort and understanding Toss a line and tie it loosely. November 8 Nothing is so strange That it does not connect With the edges of your understanding November 15 Conversation depends on listening Instead of choosing your words Choose curiosity. November 22 Reach out to mend the gaps You can see from your side of the bridge Everyone is stronger when the bridge holds. November 29 Don’t check the mirror before you speak Become a mirror for what you see Reflect another’s strengths.
- 14. December Make Light December 6 When the days are short and dark You have two choices Find a light or make one December 13 Make light of what weighs you down Interrupt your fear With random acts of laughter And small gifts December 20 In the dark, sparks fly Bits of the future you desire Ready for a well-directed breath To blow them into light December 27 Hold tight to knowing Night inevitably ends Choose vision, choose courage Choose hope.