Anchoring

A ship’s anchor is a device for keeping the ship tied to a particular place. A psychological anchor is a stimulus that automatically and consistently links us to a particular pattern or state of thinking.  Commonplace anchors are the perfume of a loved one that evokes memories of that person and the feeling of being with them, or the desire of a smoker to do something with their hands that leads them to light up a cigarette.

Anchors are neither good nor bad in themselves, although we might prefer one association over another.  Our internal mechanics have the innate ability to establish these anchors, and most of them are created without our being fully aware of them. We can use this innate skill to deliberately set up new anchors for things that we want to happen – rather than things that we don’t want.

Deliberately setting up anchors can give us more control over our emotional state: when we have decided what state we want to be in, we simply trigger the anchor and it will return consistently and repeatedly.

Mechanically, anchoring works because of the potential for one part of an experience to bring back the totality of the experience.  We can deliberately build a chosen stimulus, or trigger, into the totality of the experience so that the stimulus and the experience become strongly interconnected in our minds.  This can be any stimulus that is received via any of the five senses, either singly or in a combination.  When we activate the trigger, the experience that it is anchored to floods back.

Anchoring is powerful. Following a bereavement, the act of hugging another person could easily become associated, and anchored, with intense negative feelings of loss. Later in life, a hug intended to be warm and positive could automatically, and unconsciously, trigger feelings of loss.  That’s why it is important to pick the trigger carefully.

Creating an anchor

The process is pretty straightforward: we can do it for ourselves or walk others through it to help them set up useful anchors.

Part 1: explore the desired state

	1. From a neutral position, decide what the desired state is: for example, confidence, security or feeling calm. Also decide in what contexts the state is desired: some examples might be public speaking, a job interview or any situation where the desired state would be helpful to be able to access.
	2. Remember a time (or times) in the past when we have had this experience. Almost by definition, our ability to name the state means that we have experienced it at least once before. If the memory fails, then we can always act ‘as if’ we are experiencing the state.
	3. Thinking of one occasion of experiencing the state (whether real or imagined), step into an imaginary circle and relive the experience as if it were happening right now. This physical movement, actually stepping into another place, encourages the brain to make the transition to a different state.
	4. Notice the experience of being in the different state. What is being seen and heard? What, if anything is being said internally? What feelings are there?
	5. Latch on to the feelings: notice what level they are at now, and how the level of feelings could be increased. Invite the person (or yourself) to notice what happens when the feelings increase, easily, by 10%, or by 20%, or even 50%.
	6. Step out of this state by stepping back to the previous position and ‘clearing’ the brain – perhaps by a physical movement like shaking the arms and/or head.
	7. From this original, more neutral, state: check what else would have made the experience even better, even more intense. We can add anything identified here into later steps.
	7. From this original, more neutral, state: check what else would have made the experience even better, even more intense. We can add anything identified here into later steps.
	8. Decide what sort of trigger we would like to set up to anchor this desired state for when it is needed. This could be: - an image, for example, the sight of the podium before speaking in public; - a word or phrase, for example the words “ career”, “CV”, or “interview” – whether spoken by another person or internally (just be careful that it is unique and relevant for the anchor); - some physical action, for example deliberately wiggling the toes, or touching a part of the body (perhaps the arm, hand or face) with a finger. A standard physical action, like a handshake, might work – but only if we want this anchor to be fired every time we shake hands. The choice of trigger for the anchor is a purely personal one: different people might find different types of trigger work better than others.

Part 2: set the anchor

	9. Step back into the desired state. Add the extra elements identified in step 7. Build the intensity of the state again, easily rising to an even higher peak.
	10. As the peak approaches, fire the chosen trigger – whether imagined (thinking of the image or hearing the words) or real (a touch on the body or saying words out loud). This is the stage where we establish the anchor, and the more intense the state the better. We are creating the anchor by incorporating the trigger into our intense experience of the desired state.
	11. Step back out of the circle into a ‘normal’ state again, clearing the mind, and pause for a while.
	12. Trigger the chosen anchor, and we should get a full representation of the desired state. If that doesn’t work well, we need to go back to step 9 and add whatever elements are necessary to intensify the experience before setting the anchor again.

Keys to successful anchoring

• The trigger for the anchor needs to be unique and distinct so that it applies to only one specific state, rather than a variety of other states: the purer the anchor the better.
• Take the time to ensure that each step is experienced fully before moving on to the next.
• The more intense the experience, the more likely that the anchor will be established successfully.  The person has to be completely inside the experience, reliving it, rather than observing it from the outside.