A state is a mood or an emotion – and you are in charge of your mood, even if it doesn’t feel like that at times!  NLP will help you to be able to better manage your states and be more in control of your moods.   

Everything happens twice in life – first in our imagination and then in reality. Therefore, your state actually starts well before reality happens. If you think about a meeting you are going to have tomorrow and get excited about it, that is the beginning of your state, your mood, and your psychology. If however, you get frustrated thinking about the meeting then that is the beginning of how you enter the meeting.  

There are two main components of a state 1) what is happening inside of your body and 2) what is happening outside your mind.   

Inside your body starts with your mind and the cascade of chemicals produced by your brain. These chemicals are receptors or transmitters of emotions that tap into the programs of your present and past experiences. The direct output of these chemicals is your physiology (your body posture, facial expression, muscle tension, eye movement, perspiration, voice tempo, tone, volume, etc.) – and the direct output of your physiology is your mood or state.  

When you change even one aspect of your physiology, your state must start to change, even if just a little. This is why when someone is sad or near tears, they often look UP. Or to get motivated or energized about something someone may stand up or sit up. And, to relax, we often lean back, lay down, or otherwise fold in on ourselves.  

The mind and body are connected, and help you to manage your state.  To truly be in charge of your state, however, you’ll need to develop personal self-sensory acuity skills to become aware of your current mood or state.