One of the fundamental principles of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), as described by Bandler & Grinder, is that ‘The Map is not the Territory’.

Simply put this is the idea that what we represent in our minds is not reality, it is merely our own internal representation of reality, which has come in through our five senses and has been constrained and interpreted by our brains.

SO WHAT?

Well this is a change of perspective: If we already manipulate reality unconsciously into our own personal representation, then we can make changes to it consciously which can make radical changes to our perception of the world, the people around us and situations we find ourselves in.

This is a short light-hearted video explaining such an idea in the context of colour. It is a wonderful metaphor for the concept of ‘The Map is not the Territory’.