Create an Anchor for Relaxation Using NLP
Because of the high level of stress in our society, most people find it difficult, if not impossible, to relax completely.
Even when people are on holiday, their minds are constantly busy with thoughts about work, money, health and ‘what if’ scenarios.
But unfortunately, research has shown that there is a strong relationship between stress and our health.
Today, we understand that stress affects our moods and is one of the most prominent contributors to potentially dangerous disorders.
Today we have no option but to learn how to manage stress in our lives as much as possible.
This will, in turn, enhance our lives and significantly improve our health.
I want to share a simple but powerful technique for achieving a relaxed state whenever you need to feel calm and composed.
Anchoring and triggers
An easy way to achieve the emotion (state) that you would like is through a simple technique known as anchoring in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
The anchoring process is a natural process that occurs in our everyday lives.
Usually, an external stimulus, such as a sound, a smell, a taste or something we see, causes an emotional reaction.
Seeing a photo may bring back memories of when the person took the picture. Some examples could be:
Hearing your favourite song or tune on the radio evokes feelings of love and memories of your first girlfriend.
Maybe the smell of freshly baked bread causes you to feel happy as you relive the moments of helping your mother make bread in the kitchen.
Words can also act as powerful anchors, primarily visual and auditory suggestions.
Advertisers are fully aware of the power of anchors and use it to convince us that we need such a product.
When we are repeatedly exposed to the stimuli over time, we become anchored to that experience.
Let’s create an anchor for a state of relaxation.
We will create a physical anchor by pressing your thumb and middle finger of your non-dominant hand together.
If you are right-handed, you will use your left hand, and if you are left-handed, you will use the right hand.
Once you have created this anchor, you will be able to recall the relaxed state whenever you want, simply by pressing your thumb and middle finger together.
Here’s the procedure
When in your bed tonight, and while you are deeply relaxed and comfortable, press your thumb and middle finger together for about 10 to 15 seconds.
While doing this, you could say to yourself, ‘relax’; you may say it aloud if you prefer.
Repeat this process every night for at least a week, and you will have a powerful trigger that you can use whenever you want to feel relaxed.
How to Fire the ‘Anchor’ when needed
Whenever you find yourself in a stressful or less than optimal situation, press your thumb and middle finger together as you did in bed.
Once you have pressed your finger and thumb together, repeat the anchor word ‘relax’, and you will experience an immediate shift into a relaxed state.