Additional NLP Anchors

Anchors are often formed through everyday behaviors. You'll recognize many of these additional examples as activities you already do without putting a label on them.

Now you can do them consciously while aiming for a very specific result.


Additional NLP Anchors 1: WARDROBE

Clothes can be used as very powerful anchoring tools and work in a similar way to changing your physiology.

You can think of clothes as costumes, which, in effect, they are. Each costume represents a different side of yourself, and each side of your personality will be more effective in some circumstances than in others. So it pays to be able to know when to wear your 'different hats'.

Apart from setting off your own associations, the clothes you wear also set off other people's anchors. People will evaluate you according to what they think your clothes say about you. Keep this in mind when you want to create a particular effect.

Think of how different you feel

  • when you dress up for a formal dinner or wedding
  • when you run or work out in exercise clothes
  • when you put on your pajamas or night gear
  • when you wear a swimsuit
  • when you put on your favorite pair of baggy pants
  • when you wear something sexy

Make sure you have clothes in your wardrobe that relate to the specific states you need to achieve success. If you discover you need to purchase some, look at them as an investment in your future.

You can create an outfit (or costume) related to specific activities:

  • A self-confident 'winner's outfit' for meetings and social occasions
  • 2-3 'creative' but comfortable outfits for working at home on your business
  • 3-5 professional outfits for the office
  • 2-3 comfortable clothes for relaxation

Additional NLP Anchors 2: FRAGRANCE

Scent is a very powerful anchor, particularly since it tends to be subliminal. We pay more attention to what we see and hear so the sense of smell tends to bypass our inner censors. We can make good use of this.

Did you know that scent has been shown to aid memory and recall? Researchers at the University of Liverpool found that students who wore the same scent during exams as they wore while studying improved their recall by 15-20%. The researchers concluded that "you can use odour to control behavior in all sorts of ways."

Here are just two ways to use scent:

  1. Wear a top-quality 'power' scent at meetings and important social occasions
  2. Shop for inexpensive essential oils and use them as anchors for the following situations:

    • Studying
    • Organizing
    • Working
    • Networking

The scents used in the study as an aid to recall were orange and lavender.

Additional NLP Anchors 3: JEWELRY

Use this in the same way as clothes. You can choose one item of jewelry as an anchor for a specific state. It can also be combined with an outfit that anchors the same state.

Wearing jewelry on your hands or wrists (rings, bracelets or watches) can be doubly effective as it's more frequently in your line of vision.

Additional NLP Anchors 4: MUSIC

Keep a selection of music CDs and tapes in your home, business and car and use them to anchor yourself to specific states. You will probably need to experiment to find the right piece of music for the states you desire.

Many successful business people and entrepreneurs listen to specific music before an important meeting or phone call to put themselves in the best possible state.

For example, in the 1980s the theme from the motion picture Rocky was very popular as an anchor for achieving a goal against the odds. Anthony Robbins used Magic by America and I'm So Excited by the Pointer Sisters during the breaks in his Firewalk weekend workshop, reinforcing the states created by the workshop processes. Many people, including myself, used I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Clift as an all-purpose feel-good song.

Find the music that works for you.

Additional NLP Anchors 5: COMEDY

Use comedy CDs and tapes when you need to be in a light-hearted, positive or high-energy mood.

Additional NLP Anchors 6: MOTIVATION CDS

Use these frequently. You can turn your car into a 'rolling university' or an 'anchoring machine'.

Additional NLP Anchors 7: RELAXATION CDS

Use these at home or work for relaxation. Naturally, you wouldn't use these while driving.

Additional NLP Anchors 8: PICTURES/PHOTOS

Any picture or photograph that inspires you in a positive way can be used as an anchor.

You might like to keep feng shui guidelines in mind when choosing both the types of images and also their placement.

Additional NLP Anchors 9: FIGURINES

You can use religious icons such as the Buddha or Jesus, or figurines depicting power animals or classical images as anchors.

Again you can utilize feng shui to decide the most appropriate placement.


Addictive Anchors

Apart from their very real biochemical effects, food, cigarettes and alcohols are also powerful physiological and emotional anchors.

We often refer to foods such as candies, chocolate and cake as 'comfort foods'.

Eating something sweet and/or delightful to the taste buds can be a gesture of self-nurturing, often done at a moment when we feel no one else is taking care of us. For most of us, food is linked to Mom.

Or we reward ourselves with foods that are forbidden by our various self-imposed diets. Either way, there is a strong emotional response to eating those foods that is far more complicated that we can cover in a few paragraphs. The key thing to remember is that you are dealing with anchors when using food as a reward or compensation.

Drinking and smoking work in a similar ways:

  • The act of drinking from an elegant wine glass may give rise to feelings of glamour and sophistication.
  • Smoking a cigarette can elicit feelings of sophistication, maturity or relaxation.
  • Downing a few beers with the mates can elicit feelings of camaraderie.

Advertisers are fully aware of such associations (in fact they probably created them) and use them to persuade our sub-conscious minds that we need their products.

To remove and replace such powerful associations, you need to deliberately collapse anchors and/or create new ones.

  • Anchoring a feeling of well being, power and confidence in your success to drinking a fruit or power shake is one way to go about installing healthier drinking habits.
  • Removing all undesirable foodstuffs from your home is another important step.
  • Avoiding places where unhealthy foods are served is another.
  • Curtailing activities with well meaning but addicted friends is difficult but often necessary.
  • And rethinking the anchors that cause you to reach for a wine, beer or cigarette is a key factor in overcoming addictions.

Ask yourself, "Can I find a better way to create that feeling?" Then do it.


The Power Of Ritual

Many successful people have a series of activities they do to prepare themselves for important events.

Actors and singers offer great examples of how this works. Here is the ritual used by Linda, a fledgling theatre actress in Los Angeles.

Linda prepares for a live performance by going through the following activities in this specific order:

  1. She arrives at the theatre 90 minutes before curtain call.
  2. She puts on her robe and makes a cup of warm herbal tea.
  3. She goes over her lines for 30 minutes.
  4. She has the make-up artist prepare her face.
  5. She has the hairdresser fix her hair.
  6. She does 10 rounds of deep breathing.
  7. She puts on her costume.
  8. She spends a few minutes in silent meditation before her curtain call.

Each performer has a personal ritual. It may not be this complicated or specific but it is a ritual. If Linda's ritual is disturbed by some unexpected intrusion, she may not be able to put herself in a peak state for her performance and it won't be up to her usual standards.

What are your rituals?

And can you design some rituals that would enhance your performance in whatever arena you find yourself?


Your Next Step:

  1. When you've mastered the NLP anchoring techniques, return to the Wealth Mindset page and choose another technique.
  2. Visit the Romantic Gift Ideas web site to get some ideas for additional anchors.

Disclaimer: This site is purely educational and we make no claims or guarantees with regard to the information presented. Please consult a certified NLP practitioner for individual coaching in the use of NLP techniques. We strongly advise consulting a financial industry professional before embarking on a wealth creation journey.