| In our normal waking state, we are constantly | | | | Generally you can identify the fact that you are |
| bombarded by literally millions of external stimuli every | | | | deleting if the "who" or "what" is missing from your |
| single second in the form of sights, sounds, smells, | | | | thought process - for example "I'm not very popular at |
| tastes and feelings, and in order for us to make sense | | | | work", or "I feel depressed". These are very vague |
| of our experience, and to make sense of this huge | | | | statements and not very helpful in terms of being able |
| bombardment of information, we tend to simplify it in | | | | to take positive action to put them right, but you can |
| three ways:o We use Deletion - that is we leave | | | | find the missing information through the use of certain |
| certain information outo We use Generalisation - | | | | types of question. "Who am I not very popular with?" |
| where we make broad or universal judgements based | | | | for example, or "What am I depressed about |
| on limited evidenceo And we use Distortion, where we | | | | specifically?" |
| create meaning by focusing on some kinds of | | | | Another form of Deletion is to make hidden |
| information, and ignoring others. | | | | comparisons - if for example you say statements like, |
| Ultimately this is how we create meaning for | | | | "I wish I could be happy", you need to ask yourself, |
| ourselves. It's happening to you right now - you will | | | | "What is it that makes me unhappy?" or, "What would |
| notice the feel of your clothes on your skin, hear the | | | | happiness look like?" |
| background noise and perhaps see what's in your | | | | With Generalisation statements, you can recognise |
| peripheral vision when it's brought to your conscious | | | | them through the use of words like "always" and |
| attention, but before then you were not consciously | | | | "never" or "must, ought and should". Again these |
| aware of it because you were fully focused on | | | | assumptions can be challenged, just by asking yourself |
| something else. If you had to be fully aware of all the | | | | the right kinds of question. Here's a couple of |
| information that you receive all of the time you would | | | | examples: |
| be so overwhelmed that you wouldn't be able to | | | | "People never show me any respect"o What, |
| function. | | | | nobody? Never?o Can I think of a single time when |
| But helpfully, the unwanted information is filtered out | | | | someone did?o How do I know that for sure? |
| through a process of Deletion, Distortion and | | | | "I must get this project done on time"o Why?o What |
| Generalisation. This filtering process is driven largely by | | | | would happen if I didn't?o What would happen if I did? |
| our Beliefs of how things are at that time. Although this | | | | Finally, Distortion, which can be a real blocker for us if |
| is helpful in avoiding our senses from being overloaded, | | | | we don't realize that a limiting belief we have of our |
| it can lead us into making assumptions about given | | | | self is based on distorted evidence, and if we don't |
| situations that might not serve us well; we can easily | | | | carefully examine that belief to uncover where the |
| become victims of the vagueness that we accept as | | | | distortion occurred. Unfortunately Distortion can occur |
| fact. | | | | when we draw conclusions or make assumptions |
| By being aware that this process is taking place, it | | | | driven by our own feelings of self worth or self |
| allows us to question what might be missing from our | | | | esteem, and if we are not vigilant they can easily go |
| thinking process, challenge unproven generalisations | | | | unchallenged. |
| and create new meaning where things may have | | | | For example thoughts such as, "She finds me really |
| become distorted. | | | | boring" can be challenged with life coaching questions |
| If you are using your Deletion filter, then basically you | | | | such as:o How do I know that?o What makes me |
| are missing out some information from your logical | | | | think that?o What exactly has she said and done to |
| reasoning process. This can be both negative and | | | | make me think that?o Is it just her that I feel this |
| positive. For example, you may get some appraisal | | | | about? |
| feedback about your future career prospects and | | | | Just a word of caution here though - don't repeat the |
| ignore all the positive comments, but obsess about the | | | | mistake of only looking for evidence to support your |
| one or two criticisms you received. On the other hand, | | | | distorted view, otherwise you will get yourself into a |
| you may not notice your noisy, uncomfortable work | | | | Distortion / Deletion loop, and end up with a self-fulfilling |
| environment because you are so engrossed in positive | | | | prophesy! |
| relationships you have formed with your co-workers. | | | | |