Carla Afonso was a journalist. In her 38 birthday she decided to change her life and focus on neuro linguistic programming. A language that allows us to access to our internal structure and enhance our abilities to achieve personal excellence in our careers while being happier.
You had a career in journalism and were in your path you find the Neuro Linguistic Programming?
Carla Afonso: M work tired me. I thought I could make stories more interesting, because the social side has never interested me and they demand more of this aspect of the private life of artists instead of their work. I confess that from the standpoint of my values, this world has become less attractive. So I like to work and equate several hypotheses, one was still clinging to a career that no longer give me any pleasure and end up old and bitter and the other was to change my life and find another route. I was teaching at the college of journalism that was a very important experience for me in a personal point of view, I thought I could continue to provide training for adults and I stumbled in neuro linguistic programming when I started working as a trainer. I was interested in this subject; I bought books, read articles and dropped me on my lap the opportunity to have a certification.
But, what is NLP in layman's terms?
CA: The NLP in layman's terms is an area that appears in the U.S. in the mid-'70s and who goes in search of areas of excellence of people. It studies subjective issues that are: how we do things? Most of the actions that we outlined in our day-to-day we do it on autopilot and do not question that we do without thinking, but the way we do is an unconscious choice. NLP will drink its knowledge from other disciplines, cybernetics, positive psychology, therapies, etc. Go get those disciplines that already exist for its theoretical torso. Neuro Linguistic Programming will use all this knowledge into practice so that people can have excellent results. In the area of communication goes in search of the factors that make them especially effective and search for the structure of things, teach us how we can reproduce behaviors and performances as well as possible.
How all these factors are reflected in a professional performance? Or can also cover aspects of the personal life?
CA: Is used for people to reflect on what moves you inside. Then there is another aspect that is how they communicate? What they say to themselves and others. Another application area is how do you set goals? Most people typically know what they not want but cannot say what they want instead. NLP helps us to focus on what we want, promotes self-knowledge and deep personal alignment around what characterizes us as individuals. It is a discipline that has had great results at the individual level, but also in organizations because it helps them to set goals creates action plans and phase to phase helps them achieve the results they want from a practical standpoint.
The success of this course is not due to the great pessimism of the Portuguese?
CA: Yes, the Portuguese are pessimistic, some, I find many, but it is not necessary to be pessimistic for the neuro linguistic programming to results. Now, as a country we are going through a phase where people are more fearful and there maybe blockages and negative beliefs to overcome, however, NPL has excellent results in who is optimistic and proactive, because it focuses on what people want to improve on their lives. In terms of mental flexibility, helps set a goal to be achieved, for example, in our lives always insist on doing things a certain way, even in our personal lives, in marriage, people change partner for others who are similar to the previous one. We humans, we tend to do things the same way. Neuro linguistic programming alerts us to this issue and removes us from the autopilot and helps create awareness of what you are doing and why they do this so that we can in good conscience choose the best path for you, this point in a personal view has a dramatic impact.
In companies how does that work?
CA: In business works on improving the alignment of the relationships between people. Note, NLP focuses particularly on the area of communication, there are people in different teams with different objectives, have different ways of being and serves so the group will harmonize within themselves. Take them to realize that everyone has a personal record, a legitimate one and there are ways to deal that more flexible, with a greater ability to integrate the other, that for organizations is extremely interesting. It also acts at the level of discovery, of what motivates us. The big problem at this time in Portugal is that people are deeply unhappy, unmotivated and have little internal resources as we say in NLP, whether they realize this internal condition is easier to be able to reschedule to another spirit state. And therefore, the improvement of leadership, alignment of teams, goal-setting group, reduced conflict and increased pro-activity are all areas that allow people to align with themselves first and then with whom they work. I give lots of courses in sales and public service, if people know how the client express their needs is easier to build an effective argument. The NLP also has an educational component I also do training with teachers, how each of us learn? Where is our focus of attention? How we received the stimuli of reality? This results in people who learn in different ways, we give the trainers, or teachers a specific knowledge about the different students they have, how they can be stimulated and this increases exponentially the results.
Another aspect of your career path is the project's Hugg. What is it?
CA: That's a joke, I am also certified in coaching and we have an acronym that is "huge unbelievable great goals" we also say in neuro linguistic language, attractive targets, Hugg's also means hug. I have a personal development project and improvement of people, so I created this short for a project in which I give a set of courses related to communications, personal development, self-management, hug towards the integration of people and personal improvement.
The Beehive project is an extension of this work?
CA: It's different. I own a space that sometimes I do not use because I am out and the facilities, modesty apart, are very beautiful and welcoming, rent this area for workshops, seminars or lectures that have added value in terms of personal improvement through specific actions, which are not necessarily streamlined for me. There is only one condition has to be areas of human enhancement. It is the integration of various components in the same space, so that people can be happier, to achieve its objectives and that they can live more harmoniously. I believe that people improve from the inside out and do not believe the "fast food" of personal development. Everything has its time.
http://www.carlaafonso.com/
