Today, in the second installment of my series dedicated to sharing some things I’ve found that help me to feel a little more comfortable when I”m having a Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad, No Good Day, I am REALLY excited to be hosting Shannon Wilkinson of “Your Life-Inspired”.
I have known Shannon online for a couple of years now, but last month when I was in Portland I got to meet her in person, and I was not at all surprised to find out that she is even cooler in person than she is online.
So without further ado, let me step back and let Shannon take the floor.
Welcome, Shannon! I’m so grateful that you were willing to take the time to come and visit with us today.
So, Shannon:
1. One of the services you offer your clients is something called NLP. Having worked with a coach for many years, (and actually being a secret Certified Life Coach myself), I have heard a lot about NLP, but I’ve never really felt like I had a clear idea of exactly what it is. Could you tell us more about it?
I’m not surprised that you don’t have a clearer understanding about it, it can be hard for me to define succinctly, and I’m a certified NLP Trainer! I think it’s especially confusing because while NLP is really about the study of excellence and subjective experience, most people think of it as the many techniques and patterns that have come out of the modeling process.
Oh, and the names. The names are just horrible, starting with Neuro-Linguistic Programming! It was coined in the 1970’s when computers were really starting to excite people. The developers thought of NLP as a User’s Guide for the software of your mind and behavior. But when you break down the name, it’s about how thought (“neuro”) and language (“linguistic”) affect one another and behaviors (“programming”).
So, what is it? NLP is the study of how you experience the world and do things, from how you do the things you do really well naturally (learn languages, empathize with others) to how you do the things you’d rather not do (get angry, bite your nails).
There’s a systematic process for figuring out how someone does something really well, breaking it down into steps and recreating the results. And to know that you really have it figured out, teaching the process to someone else. This is how I learned to break a board after five minutes of training as opposed to the years it might take in traditional martial arts training. And could then teach someone else to break a board in the same way.
The other part of NLP, and probably more familiar, is the many techniques and processes that came out of modeling people. The first three people modeled by the founders of NLP were outstanding therapists: Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls and Milton Erickson. So lots of techniques that these therapists used were identified, modeled and taught to others.
There’s a model of asking questions that makes things more specific and precise, there’s a model that makes things more broad and abstract. There are techniques to change your perceptions and feelings about things, including a phobia cure, allergy relief and creativity. There are questions to understand how you think the way you do, and what that means. These are what most people think of when they think of NLP.
2. Wow. That’s really interesting. So could you tell us how you use NLP to help people work through their hard/stuck/painful stuff? What are some of the results that your clients have experienced?
The spirit of NLP infuses everything I do with clients, from fear taming, where I help a client transform fears that are keeping them stuck, to genius discovery, where we figure out someone’s unique superpowers and gifts and apply them in other parts of their life.
Essentially I ask questions, notice patterns and help unleash my client’s natural brilliance in making changes that let them feel good and do what they want to do. The whole thing feels like a conversation to the client, yet I’m using language specifically to engage a person’s unconscious mind and shift the way they they’ve been thinking, from what’s keeping them stuck, to a new way of thinking that gets them what they want.
The most common result is a sense of ease around something that was previously fraught with angst or other troubling emotions. Lots of clients have come back to me in disbelief and said, “it’s so weird, it’s just not an issue anymore.”
The other thing that’s pretty common, is for clients to come with one issue, and they not only get the changes they wanted there, but other problems shift magically as well.
3. One of my favorite things that you’ve done is the “Boring Change: No Augers Required” kit, especially since it fits in so perfectly with the “soothing” theme of this series. Can you tell us a little bit about how this product is different than some of the other self-help/personal growth products out there?
The Boring Change kit is the ultimate in stress-free change. There’s lots of information in the kit, but basically the right way to do it is to be guided through the five-minute process and then forget about it. There are no SMART goals to set, no forced accountability, no rehashing the past to get to the root cause of why you do what you don’t want to do, simply a short process that gets your unconscious mind on board with what your conscious mind wants. The change happens automagically. What could be a more soothing?
The other thing that’s great about Boring Change is that you can use it over and over for a wide range of issues. People have had success using it for procrastination, money issues, weight loss, jet lag, public speaking, nail biting, compulsive email checking, and relationship problems. I’ve even used it for acclimating more easily to extreme temperatures while mountain climbing. If you can name your issue, you can make a difference with Boring Change. It also can be really supportive when you’re trying to make big purposeful changes in your life.
4. And of course, no interview with you could be complete without mentioning the Hypnosis Recordings + Lotion Potion Alchemy set that you collaborated on with Heidi and The Aardvark, who were featured in the inaugural post of this series. This is one of best things I have ever bought to help me take care of myself, and I have received no end of soothing and comfort from it. Can you tell us a little bit about how your collaboration came about, and what kind of results you hope that people get from using the recording and lotions together?
I’m so happy to hear that it’s been helpful to you! What a dream project it was working with Heidi and The Aardvark.
It happened because I’d been wanting to make some hypnosis recordings, but wasn’t sure what would be most useful. Then I bought the Aardvark Essentials Potion Sampler set and was wowed by the different potions. It occurred to me that it would create some amazing synergy to have a recording guide you in accessing the qualities evoked by each potion. I emailed Heidi, we chatted and the Audio + Potion Alchemy was born. It got really fun when we enlisted the help of readers to vote for the potions that would get a hypnosis recording.
The results are unique to each potion + recording combination:
- Night Queen is to develop your confident passion
- Losing It helps you calm the heck down in moments of overwhelm and fear
- Sassypants helps you live your truth, without worrying about the world’s approval
Heidi’s potions are wonderful on their own, and my hypnosis recordings can really help you make changes in how you feel, but when you put them together, and get the primal sense of smell working together with your unconscious mind? Wow. Powerful good stuff. They get different parts of your brain working together to create an experience that’s hard to describe.
5. Thank you so much for visiting with me and Cranky Fibro Girl today! Before we go, is there anything coming up in the near future, any project you’re working on that you want mention?
It’s such a pleasure to be here Jenny! Thanks for having me, and for asking about my future stuff.
I’m crazy excited about a new coaching program called You Creating You. It brings together all the best stuff I use with my clients to help them bring their (secret) dreams into reality. You know, the stuff that you don’t hardly even want to admit to yourself, the things that you dismiss out of hand, because it’s not possible for you? Yeah, that stuff!
It’s happening in conjunction with the creation of a new online home for me. If you or your readers want to know when it’s all ready, get on the list (http://www.shannonwilkinson.com/newsletter/) and you’ll be one of the first to know. Plus when you sign up, you’ll get a soothing five-minute audio you can use right now.
In addition to being one of our favorite people ever, Shannon is a life coach who uses NLP and hypnosis (plus her general, plentiful smartnesses) to help others find clarity and make positive changes. She is a lifelong entrepreneur who has been self-employed since 1996.
We’ve heard Shannon refer to herself as the “Boring Life Coach.” Well, when she’s not off climbing mountains, that is. (Sorry, Dear ~ We’re not buying the boring bit.)
One of her core messages is that change doesn’t have to be angsty, drama-filled work. That it can be gentle and slow, and so easy it feels boring. No auger required. Aha! Now that’s the kind of boring we can get behind. We’re so happy Shannon is here today! (Bio courtesy of Eileen and Brianna of the Hopscotch Distillery. I couldn’t have said it better than this!)
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