“Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.”

- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Everyone faces difficulties in their life. In NLP there is a lot of talk about being (and helping others) be resourceful. In fact, being resourceful is the #1 quality many top employers screen for.

It’s the one quality that is the X-Factor when it comes to people overcoming difficulties and becoming successful vs. the great majority who simply give up when times get tough or the path forward isn’t clear.

It’s such an important component in NLP that it’s baked into the basic model for change taught on every decent NLP Practitioner course.

Indeed all of NLP change work could be summed up in this model:

Desired State - Present State - Resources

First, figure out what is your desired state. What is it you really want and how will you know when you have it?

Next figure out where you are now in relation to it.

Finally, identify what resources need to be brought to bear to change the present state to the desired state?

It’s a simple model, but incredibly powerful when you use it daily to help you enjoy more of the life you want.

Want to lose weight, change your career, make more money, find a partner, learn a new skill… you can use this model to help you get their faster.

Notice there isn’t any mention of stories, excuses or “beliefs”. The model is outcome-focused.

And as you know if you want to achieve your outcomes it keys that you put yourself into the right state.

For decades practitioners of NLP have to know or heard that our…

• physiology
• focus
• language affect our state.

And they do. But they aren’t the only ones.

In the wrong state, you’ll skip your gym workout, eat sugary foods and talk gossip. In an empowering state, you will show up, work harder, and fly passed what a lower state in you would see as problems.

Changing your state changes the actions you take.

Simple. Frequently overlooked. Yet so powerful.

What’s one of the BEST ways to change your physiology?

Change your breathing.

Breath plays a vital role in accessing, amplifying and sustaining our states. So why not use it as an intentional resource you can call on any time to bring out the best in you.

Try this simple breathing technique.

• Gently place your tongue on the roof of your mouth. This helps calm internal dialogue.
• Inhale through your nose for five counts.
• Hold your breath for three counts.
• Exhale through your nose for five counts.
• Hold your breath for three counts.
• This 5-3-5-3 breathing completes one cycle.
• Repeat for 5-10 cycles to radically alter your state.

Even doing just a few cycles of this pattern will help you relax, regain focus and changes your biochemistry.

Add it to your morning ritual and set yourself up to win the day.

It’s especially useful if you find yourself feeling low energy or down and want a quick way to elevate your energy.

Personally, I recommend you have 3-5 go-to breathing patterns you can employ to quickly and easily change your state, focus and increase your resourcefulness. This is just a very useful one.

Try it out for yourself today.

If you’d like to learn how to master your state and regain choice and greater control over your emotions, be sure to check Emotional Mastery - How To Master Your State for lots more quickly and highly effective ways to take control and reintroduce choice.

Or if you’re ready to tame the monkey mind and experience deep mindfulness… I recommend you check this out.

Share this article: