What Is NLP Anchoring?

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “anchor a state” but aren’t sure what it means or how to do it, this article is for you. This technique comes from NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and is a highly effective way to change your internal state.

An anchor is any physical trigger (music, color, word, movement, ritual) that is associated with a specific emotional state. In NLP, “anchors” are essentially conditioned reflexes. For example, think of tangerines, Olivier salad, and champagne—what memories come to mind? Most likely, New Year’s Eve. That’s an anchor! In everyday life, many people use morning coffee as an anchor to start their day. Just the aroma can set the right mood, and after drinking it, you’re ready to go. Or maybe you danced to your favorite band’s hits at a school disco, and now, whenever you hear those songs, you feel the same joy and excitement as back then. These are examples of unconscious anchors, but you can also use anchors intentionally for your benefit.

Anchoring positive states (confidence, calm, joy, compassion, etc.) is widely used because the state you’re in greatly affects your actions, and your actions affect your results. That’s why it’s so important to anchor your most effective states and use them in daily life.

How to Anchor a Desired State Yourself

Here’s how you can set an anchor on your own:

1. Identify the state you want to anchor.
2. Recall or evoke that state as vividly as possible.
3. When you reach the peak of that state, set the anchor (for example, snap your fingers, make a gesture, play a specific song, or use a scent that you’ll associate with this feeling).
4. Break the state by distracting yourself with something completely different.
5. Test the anchor: try to reproduce the desired state using your chosen anchor.
6. Use the anchor whenever you need that state.

For example, suppose you have an important project presentation coming up, and your confidence will determine not only the project’s fate but also your own promotion. It’s crucial to present in a confident state. To prevent nerves from taking over, you can anchor confidence. Recall a time when you felt extremely confident. How did you look? How did you move? What was your tone of voice? Remember it as vividly as possible and immerse yourself in that state. If confidence had a color, what would it be? Visualize a scale from 1 to 10, and imagine your confidence is at 6 and rising to 10. Count from 6 to 10, picturing your confidence (and its color) growing with each number, filling your whole body. At 10, set your anchor.

Since you’ll need to activate confidence right before your presentation, choose an anchor that’s appropriate for the situation—music or strong scents might not be suitable. You could scratch your left ear, pinch your hand, clasp your palms, or touch your forehead, and imagine this movement connecting with your peak confidence.

After linking your chosen movement to the confident state, distract yourself with something else: chat with someone, check the weather, or read a news headline. Then, use your anchor again—scratch your left ear—and see if the confident state returns. If you feel a surge of confidence, your anchor is working.

Repeat this process a few more times: recall the confident state, bring it to a peak, use your anchor, distract yourself, and repeat. This helps solidify the anchor; otherwise, its effect may fade after a few hours. Now, when it’s time for your important presentation, just scratch your left ear and—voilà!—you’re not just a speaker, but a confident expert in your field.

Stacking Anchors

Everyone has both positive and negative anchors. Sometimes, to get rid of an unwanted anchor, you need to overlay it with a stronger one. For example, smoking may bring a sense of calm and relieve tension, but it also harms your health, and you want to break the habit. In this case, you can overlay the stimulus (the cigarette) with negative associations (imagine the smell of manure, worms crawling on your skin, etc.). For breaking harmful habits, it’s best to work with a specialist, as you need to understand the secondary gain from smoking and how to meet that need in a healthier way.

Collapsing or Breaking Unwanted Anchors

Imagine the state you want to eliminate (for example, anxiety before public speaking) as a small image and place it in your left hand. In your right hand, gather images of resourceful states you want to have instead (confidence, calm, joy, peace). The images in your right hand should be one and a half to two times larger than those in your left. Gradually bring your hands together, merging the images, and observe your sensations and feelings. Most likely, the positive states will absorb or destroy the negative anchor. Now, think about the situation that used to bother you—how do you feel about it now?

You can do many useful things with anchors: set new ones, remove old ones, and use them effectively in your daily life. Use this technique to your advantage for a successful life and to achieve your goals.