Chapter 9: Dropping Anchors 149
Humans discover and develop behaviour in response to a stimulus: dolphins
aren’t the only ones who can learn amazing tricks! From conception, you’re
programmed to respond to certain stimuli, and you constantly move and
change your state in response to your environment with an incredible flexibil-
ity of behaviour.Setting an anchor and building yourself a resourceful state
Memories are stored as associations with the senses. Smells are particularly
powerful anchors to times and events. So, for example, you smell a particular
perfume and it transports you back to your first date and splashing on the
cologne or aftershave. Or if you’ve ever been drunk on whisky, perhaps the
smell of it alone is enough to make you feel nauseous. People create positive
and negative anchors for themselves all the time.NLP teachers suggest various techniques for how to set an anchor. Ian
McDermott and Ian Shircore describe the following simple three-step NLP
technique for taking control of your own state by establishing resourceful
anchors:- Get clear about the positive state you ideally want to be in.
Your positive state may be bold, witty, energetic, anticipatory, or enthu-
siastic. Be clear and specific in your own words to describe it.
- Recall a specific occasion in the past when you’ve been in that state.
You’re looking for a comparable experience, even though the context
can be very different.
- Relive the experience as vividly as you can.
Engage fully with the experience – the sights, sounds, smells, physical
feelings, and internal sensations.
When you’ve followed these three steps and are in the highest positive state,
that’s the moment to set an anchor for yourself. Hand movements work well
as a physical (kinaesthetic) anchor. Simply notice what your hands are doing
as you engage with the experience and hold a distinct movement – such as
a clenched grip, or thumb and first finger in a circle. (A handshake doesn’t
work because it’s too mundane and habitual.) Alternatively, as an auditory
anchor, listen for a sound. For those with a visual preference, create an image
that symbolises the positive state.