How to Create an Anchor to Writing Success

The concept of anchoring from Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP) provides us with the ability to access the most powerful and appropriate state for a particular activity and then be able to get into that state at will.

This is something which has helped me to write quickly and efficiently. It also transformed my ability to make presentations when on my first few attempts my nervousness and lack of confidence led me to shake, sweat and flee the stage in terror afterwards. Setting a positive anchor helped me to confront my fears and learn to communicate effectively.

All of us have certain sights, sounds or events that make us feel happy, sad, confident, or nervous and a lot of these occur naturally. The smell of a recently mown lawn or freshly baked bread or the sound of a music track can invoke memories and make us feel in a certain way. Recently I met someone who used to bully me in a previous job and now many years later my feelings of fear and dread came flooding back. A negative anchor had been set.

The madeleine cakes that Proust told us stimulated his nostalgia were an anchor. Anchoring is something that occurs naturally and by changing some of these shortcuts that our body and mind causes us to act in a certain way we can enhance our own performance and increase our ability to write.

How can you set an anchor?

• Determine how you want to feel-for example being fully motivated to complete your word count
• Remember a time when you felt really motivated to write. Relax and let this memory come to mind.
• Choose an anchor device that involves touch, such as touching your thumb and forefinger together or making a fist.
• Remember what you saw, heard, and felt in your memory. Relive it and immerse yourself in it.
• Relive the memory until you begin to feel the confidence coming over you in the same way you felt it at the time and activate your anchoring device.
• Touch your thumb and forefinger together (or another anchor device) as the confident feeling increases. Repeat this several times.
• You can test out anchor by using your anchor device in the same way again when you need to access that increased motivation to write.

Most people use touch for their anchors as it is easiest way to re-access them, but you can also use auditory, visual, or kinaesthetic anchors. Using a word in conjunction with your touch anchor can add to the power of it.

It is important that your anchor trigger is unique because you do not want it to become diluted or accidently fired at the wrong time. Repetition is key and the more times you set the trigger during the peak of your emotional state the greater the intensity and the more effective it will be for you.

Examine your daily writing routine and when you catch yourself working well be curious about your thoughts, feeling and emotions. Setting a positive anchor to recreate this could transform your writing habit.