Isn't it amazing how you can stop a 200 ton boat in its tracks by simply dropping an anchor into the sea?
Anchors are extremely powerful and useful when it comes to keeping things in place and preventing them from drifting away.
Well what if I told you there was a way to do this with your positive emotions?
We've all had time in our lives when we felt more confident, more powerful and more skilled in a certain area.
And we've all certainly had those times were we felt like no matter what we tried, nothing seemed to work. Did you ever notice that in both positive and negative mind states, we seem to build momentum in both cases?
In other words, when we're in a state of positivity, we just seem to build on that and enter what is known as the “zone”. And when we’re in a state of negativity, we feel like “when it rains, it pours”.
Let’s talk about positivity for a moment.
I can't think of a better example of someone being in the “zone” then Reggie Miller in the game-winning performance that he put on during game five in the 1994 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks.
Coming into the game, the Indiana Pacers had lost 11 straight games at Madison Square Garden; but this game would be different.
In the fourth quarter of the game, Reggie scored 25 of his total 39 points and nailed five 3 pointers leading his team to a 93 – 86 win. Keep in mind, the Pacers also came into this quarter down by 12 points.
This kind of positive momentum takes place in people's lives all the time, the problem is that most people don't know how to consciously make it happen whenever they want.
They know the feeling when they experience it and they know they're in the zone but very few people can actually get into that state whenever they choose.
Today I want to share a really interesting article with you on an NLP technique called anchoring.
Anchoring will basically allow you to effectively achieve the positive mental state of being in the zone and then remain in that place just as an anchor holds a ship in place.
Anchoring is a very useful tool. As the word implies, anchoring has to do with setting something up that will take firm hold in place.
What makes anchors so powerful is that you can use them to hold positive mental states in place including confidence, attraction, intelligence, humor, etc.
But you can also anchor alders to you to prevent them from drifting away. Anchors are also talk to the concepts around you and when bringing all of these elements together, you can achieve things like making someone think you are funny even if you are generally not a funny person.
You can also anchor someone into thinking that you are extremely confident; here's how:
Anchoring yourself with confidence happens alone. When you anchor someone to yourself, it happens with someone else.
Do not do this while driving, but what I would like you to do is to close your eyes and remember the time when you were confident. It can be anything.
Examples are a birthday party, walking across the road and doing a good dead or anything else even if basic that you can pick out that made you feel confident.
With your eyes closed, I’d like you to remember yourself in that situation.
Whatever was going on is going on now in your mind. Paint the scene; see the colors and the people, if there are any. Smell the scent in the air. Does it smell good or bad? Does it smell like you are indoors or outdoors, like something new or old? Perhaps you just smell the clean air? What do you hear? Are people applauding, talking? Are their other sounds like those of birds?
Most importantly, how do you feel? How does it feel emotionally? Pretty good?
Of course you do because you accomplished something and that feels good. It does not have to be an accomplishment; it can simply be that today I feel good.
I have some sunglasses on, my hair is fixed up just so and I am wearing certain clothes as I sit in a nice car. I feel good. It can be anything but you are there now, in your memory. At that time when you felt really good, you felt confident. Notice the calmness that comes with that. Once we accomplish something and feel good, we can relax and think that we are worthy and we are a good person. Just kind of soak that in now and feel how good that is.
I now want you to turn everything upside down a bit - The sounds, the smells and everything. Feel it more intensely and feel the clothes on your body. You notice how we are using the three major representational systems, auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Something to see, hear and feel inside and out.
Also, pay attention to the odors and any other senses that you want. Make everything intense now and especially that sense of feeling good. It feels good to be you right in this moment in your memory. Feel the moment more intensely.
Good. What I want you to do is make the OK sign with your right hand. That means touching the tip of your right index finger to the tip of your right thumb, as if you were saying ‘okay’ to someone.
I want you to also say the word ‘power’ and to do that now. Good. I want you to slowly open your eyes. What we’ve done is installed an anchor for confidence. The next time you feel the lack of power or confidence in any situation, all you have to do is make the okay sound with your right hand and say the word power. That feeling of confidence will come back to you.