I’ve been promising a few of you to write this article for some time and so finally here it is.
An Anchor is a trigger or stimulus that retrieves a desired emotional state. A great example of an anchor is when you hear a piece of music that brings back a particular emotion or feeling associated with something that you were doing. E.g. you could have been with a loved one, listening to a particular song. A month, two months, a year or even ten years down the line, you may hear that song but experience those feelings and emotions as if you were there right now.
Anchoring is such a powerful tool because with it, you can recall any particular emotional state that you desire. You could create an Anchor for creativity, and Anchor for motivation, an Anchor for feeling powerful, an Anchor for love, an Anchor for happiness. Etc.
We are constantly creating Anchors. Every day all the time Anchors are being formed through the repetitive actions we are doing and associated feelings we are having. E.g. you might have anchored yourself to feeling motivated for training by hearing a particular song. When I want to get ready to play a badminton match or go to the gym I might put “Eye of the Tiger” on my Ipod because I have automatically associated success to that song through watching the “Rocky” Movies.
Marketing companies are creating Anchors for us all the time. When they create T.V. commercial they may use a song with a brand. Recently they did an advert for a new car with a song called “Don’t rain on my parade” by Bobby Darrin which happens to be one of my favorite songs. Now, whenever I listen to that song I think of that car and whenever I see that car I end up automatically humming or singing that song.
The great thing about this is now that you know about Anchors you can begin to form your own to serve you. Creating an Anchor is easy. There are three core things that are important when creating an Anchor and they are: i) Intensity, ii) Repetition and iii) Uniqueness.
Uniqueness - It is important for your anchor trigger to be unique. The reason for this is because you don’t want your anchor to become diluted or accidentally fired off at the wrong time.
Repetition - Initially when you create the trigger you must “Stack The Anchor” and so the more times you set the trigger during the peak of your emotional state the more that trigger will become associated with that emotion and the more it will be effective for you.
Intensity - When creating your anchor you must do it at the peak of emotional intensity. So if the emotion you want to experience is absolute and total empowerment and motivation. Get yourself to that state by either remembering a time when you were in that state or imagine what it would be like to be in that state. At this point, for this kind of emotion it’s a good idea to get your whole body involved as this will add to the intensity.
So lets put all these together.
1) Firstly, think of an emotion you would like to anchor. Absolute self confidence perhaps? Or the feeling of being unstoppable maybe.
2) Think of an anchor that you would like to use. I first learned about anchoring when I was listening to one of Chris Howard’s tapes on NLP and one of the anchors he uses is to tuck his thumb into his fist and that was unique enough to create a powerful trigger.
3) Recall the emotion you wish to anchor and get yourself at the peak of emotional intensity
4) Engage your trigger. Once you’ve done that, release your trigger and get yourself back to your normal state.
5) Repeat as much as you like, the more you do it, the stronger the Anchor becomes. (Lather, rinse, repeat!) 
That’ s pretty much it. Now you have the tools to create a powerful Anchor that you can use at any time. Lets say you’re feeling depressed and you want to get yourself out of it. If you’ve created your Anchor well as soon as your trigger it you will be able to break that emotional state and be in the empowered place that you wish you be.
Without even realising it, I’ve just anchored you. From now on, whenever you see or hear the word Anchor or you see a picture of one, you will remember the anchoring process! 
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November 17th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Hey Shona, this is indeed a very motivating article and its well timed (need I say why lol!)…thank you for this….
The literal definition of an anchor is ‘it is a mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving’ this vessel could be anything, you, an emotional state, something you have coveted and yearned or just any ordinary feeling…. To me it’s about stability….An anchor is something that makes you feel secure and safe. If you fasten yourself to your anchor (who or whatever it may be), you end up feeling protected and motivated to achieve what you set out to do…..some people find their anchors in their friends, parents, partners or a even a song like you mentioned especially when its about motivation…. A lot of people may also find it within themselves, maybe a feeling within them that pushes them and stimulates their mind, body and soul….
At times people act on impulse and in retrospect regret what they have done…however the basic realistaion of this (and the regret) prompts them to make amends and encourages them to change….at such time finding that trigger/anchor is ideal….
Ok I am sorry if I have completely gone off track. I am multi tasking – am at work on a conference call and writing at the same time. So apologies hon if I have completely lost the plot!
Keep smiling sunshine.
Lots of love,
The one and only - Schumi
XXXXX
November 17th, 2006 at 3:46 pm
You’re sort of on track Schumi but the function of the anchor in NLP terms is to create a trigger stimulus that activates a specific emotion as you need it. You can, for example, create an anchor for happiness. Try this, think of a time when you were incredibly happy. Maybe it was when you think of your pet dog back home. As you think about him and you feel the strong intense feelings of joy, love and happiness, do something unique, maybe squeeze the middle of your index finger on your left hand with your thumb and index finger on your right hand. Stop and let go. Put your mind somewhere else for a moment. Now repeat it. Do this about 5 - 10 times and you will have a solid Anchor for the feeling of happiness.
As for what you said about people being your anchors, that is very true and we do this all the time.
I will do a follow up article on this soon and I will also talk about how you can collapse negative anchors.
November 17th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
Hi Amit,
It’s great to learn that we can use this technique in a positive way for self improvement!
I saw a lot of it in its negative aspect when I worked at the school for emotionally disturbed girls. A trigger can be *anything*; a look, word, gesture…and many times it was difficult to identify and therefore to “deprogram.”
We *are* constantly being programmed without even relizing it….that’s a pretty scary thought! (Another good reason to spend time in silence?!)
There are phrases and jingles from my childhood that, when I hear them, I still associate with products. Repetition is very powerful programming.
Thanks for a great article!
November 21st, 2006 at 12:33 am
Hey Michelle, I don’t know why but I didn’t get notified when you posted your comment as I normally would.
As much as an anchor can be created it can also be collapsed to and so when i do my follow up on this one I’ll talk about that
November 29th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Hey Amit
Great guide mate. Definitely one to add to the favourites.
Have a great day bud
Ross
November 30th, 2006 at 12:53 am
[...] Amit of Unlimited Choice fame has posted an excellent guide to Anchoring - an NLP technique that I find invaluable. [...]
December 1st, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Thanks Ross!
December 1st, 2006 at 7:44 pm
[...] 1) First and foremost….the Christmas season can bring with it powerful emotions whether that be positive or negative. Use the power of Anchoring to have those powerful and positive feelings to hand at any time you choose. Create powerful anchors so that you can recall those powerful driving emotions at any time. [...]
January 2nd, 2007 at 11:00 am
[...] You and I both know that what ever you think about the new year, it goes hand in hand with various feelings of natural motivation. We all know that in reality what we’re feeling is that we know that another year has passed and that another year less to fulfill those dreams that you’ve always had. We also know that you can decide to fulfill those dreams at anytime but the truth is there is a special feeling that goes along with new year, an anchor if you will, that can be put to good use. [...]
January 24th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
[...] These are just a few of the ones that really give me a buzz and that “vibe” of feeling like I’m on cloud 9. They truly are powerful anchors and what I’ve found is that during the day, I’ve been humming or whistling these tunes and whenever I do it fills me with even more energy. [...]