THERE ARE PLACES and times when being-in-the-now or, going-with-the-flow can be a useful strategy to employ.  Can you think of some examples in addition to:

• Making love.
• Standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon.
• Listening as the officiate performs your marriage ceremony.

AND THEN CONSIDER, that much of what we admire as extraordinary outcomes has NOT, come out of being-in-the-now.  For example:

• Some Great scientific discoveries.
• Some Great personal relationships.
• Some Great decisions.
• And much more, you can think of,  if you want to take the time.

SOME OF THE BEST outcomes happen when we apply careful planning, thought provoking discussions with others, ample research, time for self introspection, learning new things, meticulous checking, determining & setting goals, perseverance and the many other tools that require us to take some time – Time that takes us well beyond the moment of now.

THERE ARE NUMEROUS NLP tools, techniques and attitudes available to help *plan* to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Funny thing is, in my more than 10 years of NLP training and as a Licensed NLP Trainer from Dr. Bandler, never have I heard Dr. Bandler recommend anyone stay in a state of in-the-now to achieve anything – ordinary or extraordinary, except to feel good right now, that’s always a good thing! The now is about feelings. Feelings may NOT be the best representational system or state to be in to make good decisions. Being in-the–now may be a good place to be when you want to bask in the pride you can feel from the results of achieving your goals, and perhaps also, a good place to be to feel good while you enjoy the process towards your goals. Being in- the-now is also a good place to *check*  that the goals you set are the same goals you want now.  After all, you get to change your mind. And often with further calibration one does decide to change their mind. Being-in-the-now and going-with-the-flow as a general all around life strategy is like putting a blindfold on and expecting to reach the red door of success. It *could*  happen …but,  NLP is about making sure your goals can happen. Successfully and consistently reaching goals are the result of using the most *useful * strategies.

BEING-IN-THE-NOW  books and philosophy have become popular because people have spent far too much time stressing over possible future events and/or past traumas.  Being in-the-now might be a useful tool in some contexts. That’s the key. Any strategy has got to be useful and move you towards your desired outcome in the specific context.

WHAT I SEE  in my private NLP practice are extraordinary people who come in and tell me they feel stuck, that they don’t recognize who they are anymore, that they don’t know how they ended up depressed and unmotivated and how they just lost confidence. Now, look back at the bold typed language in this paragraph. That’s the language used by those who risked their future when they stopped planning, stopped taking action and stopped believing in their own goals.  What clients reveal when they get honest with NLP is that they simply gave up and allowed their path to be determined by the flow of river or the direction of the breeze – because being-in-the-now felt easier.  Not so extraordinary. Not even remarkable. Just what a lot of people do.

SO WHAT HAPPENS?  Very subtle unwanted, unnoticed changes or manipulations from other people or situations can sneak under the radar when calibrating, planning and persevering  loose out to passively being-in-the-now – which may indeed  feel good at the moment, but I’m told so does a shot of heroin. It’s just not useful to achieving the extraordinary, which is really so much easier if you’re willing to stop and return to enjoying the process of making the extraordinary happen. Being-in-the-now any longer than RIGHT NOW may be too long, or, just long enough for everyone else to watch your dreams slip right by you. You can PLAN to feel good while in the process of attaining your goals, and I recommend you do. It’s what lies beyond the moment that can determine your happiness. In my practice, I’ve discovered that most clients gave up on their goals just a little bit too soon and opted out with the rationalization that they were “just going to be in the now and see what happens”.

REMEMBER THAT ALAN Lakein said  “Failure to plan is planning to fail.”  So how about using NLP to make a plan to fail being stuck and lost before you get there, and  create a plan of action that actually gets you your true desires.  Then, you’ll be working  as that extraordinary person you have always been.  Be *proactive* in your own life or someone else might. Keep moving towards the things you want, no matter how long it takes.  Remove the blindfold so you can see how easy the river flows *with* your plans.

©2010 Pam Castillo