Trigger Happy

How Anchoring Can Help you Achieve Anything.

Have you ever watched the movie Jaws? Do you remember the feeling you got every time you heard the rhythm of orchestra music just before the shark would appear? The producers planted it early in the movie, and every time that music began, you just knew that the shark was about to appear somewhere, scaring the daylights out of you. I was a child when I first watched the Hollywood epic, and vividly remember my heartbeat increasing as the music did. Unbeknownst to me, the director and producers of the film had put the image of the shark and the sound of the rhythmic heartbeat together on purpose. That purpose was to create the feeling of foreboding amongst the audience, and it did a fantastic job doing so. What the film did, was create a neurological link between what I was watching (the shark), what I was hearing (the music) and the way I felt. This link, or “trigger” as some would call it, is but one of many examples of neurological links that surround us every day.

Think about seeing a red light while driving. You know from learning and experience that this visual external input automatically causes you to take your foot off the gas pedal, and apply it to the break. Similarly, hearing a siren signals your mind that an emergency vehicle is coming through, and that you are to pull over to the side of the road. How about the way a certain blanket feels? Does it bring back fond memories of past times? Smells are potent too, ranging from memories of past loves with types of perfume to the smell of…ugh…tuna (for some of us anyway). Personally, having a bad experience with gin does not allow me to smell or taste the alcohol again.

What each of these experiences do, and there are literally millions of triggers that surround you every day, is bring back a certain internal representation (IR) that you have of a past experience, whether it be positive or negative. These IR’s have a direct effect on your current emotional state (happy, sad, motivated, stressed etc.) which in turn have a direct effect on the physiology that you take on and vice versa. We have all seen public speakers or singers get up on stage at some point of our lives. At least once, you may have seen them freeze up. A picture enters their mind, their muscles tense and before you know it, they are heading off stage in total embarrassment. Being bored at work may create a similar chain reaction for you. Boredom may cause you to slump in your chair (thinking about being bored or tired à de-motivated state à slump in chair). The combination and synergy of your IR, state and physiology at any given moment works instantaneously to produce a behaviour that you then act out.

These triggers work within us every day on an unconscious level. We have been conditioned to respond to them much like that of Pavlov’s dog to the sound of the bell ringing, (food was on the way). The amount of neurological links that we have in our heads is quite the intimidating number, and goes to show just how powerful the connection between our mind and body truly is. Fitness professionals across the board constantly refer to the mind/body/spirit connection. But how many of them actually work with their clients on the mind aspect? Sure, we would all love to easily be able to change our behaviours (what we do) in order to serve us better towards our goals. However, because all change occurs at the unconscious level, often times, we miss the mark by just a little bit, whether it is standing in front of a crowd, or finishing a set with the utmost strength and confidence that we could possibly have.

When it comes to fitness, or what our definition of fitness is, this could have a profound effect on our stress levels, counteracting all of our progress to a great degree. No doubt, there has come a point in your life when you have been the center of the universe at any particular moment, be it standing in front of the classroom doing a presentation, going over numbers in the boardroom with your superiors surrounding you, or standing on stage being scrutinized on your physical appearance by a panel of judges. Maybe it has been something as simple as making a toast, or going for a personal best on the bench press. Not all of us are necessarily comfortable when it comes to these situations. We may be experiencing unresourceful states at that given moment, lacking the resources to be completely successful.

Creating Resources for any Situation

As much as we are affected by unconscious triggers, there is a way to consciously create a neurological link in order to bring out a resource that is needed for any occasion. Personally, I was never comfortable standing in front of a crowd of people public speaking. I am most certainly a confident person. Somewhere in my past, whether it was in a personal experience or one I witnessed somewhere else, I must have seen a presentation go completely awry, forming a trigger which made me feel nervous or anxious at the mere thought of public speaking! What I needed was the ability to empower myself when I was the center of attention. This was done through a process in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) known as Anchoring.

An anchor can be created when an individual is at the peak of recalling an experience, during an intense, emotional state. When a specific external stimulus is applied, a neurological link between that emotional state and the stimulus is created. This technique allows us to access past states and can connect the past state to the present or future events. In turn, it allows us to become empowered at any given time by consciously using our own trigger.

In my case, I recalled playing football at the university level. I went back in my memory to a game when I felt totally and completely empowered, confident and unstoppable on the field. I remembered a specific game, a specific quarter, a specific play that defined the situation in which I was the center of attention. I was able to visually recall with total clarity what I saw on that day, from the colour of the grass on the field, to the uniforms of the opposing team. I evoked the sound of the crowd cheering, the cadence of the opposing team’s quarterback. I recalled the smell of grass and sweat around me. I remembered the most surreal feeling of confidence as the ball was snapped, bodies smashing together in those four to six seconds of fury. I had made this internal representation so vivid, so powerful, that I was told later by someone working with me that I had begun to breathe a little deeper, my face had become more relaxed and I was standing upright; the same posture typically associated with someone exuberating total confidence and power. At the peak of that experience, I applied my chosen stimulus, and an anchor was created that gave me that unwavering feeling of power, confidence, and patience whenever I needed it.

Weeks later, I was asked to do a presentation with a colleague on NLP for the rest of the trainers in our region. I thought I had left presenting behind in university! The thought of presenting a topic to a group of highly respectable trainers created a slight feeling of anxiety, and so when the day came and I was standing in front of the room with all eyes on me, I applied my anchor, and held it for several seconds (possibly even a minute) behind my back. Lo and behold, very quickly, that feeling of anxiety and nerves had regressed. I was standing up tall, speaking with an unwavering tonality exuberating confidence and acting as if I had done this my entire life. By firing my anchor and testing it, I was able to get through a tough situation and it works to this very day.

You do not have to have a presentation or a show going on to be able to create a resource for yourself. A resource is anything that can help you achieve your desired outcome, make you stronger and help you through a challenging situation. Resources can help you develop a belief in your potential to reach your fitness goals or improve your sports performance by having you focus on areas in your life where you have enjoyed that success previously.

There are four keys for this technique to be successful. First is the intensity of the experience. You must, must, must be fully associated in an intense state! The more intense the experience, the better the anchor will stick. Secondly, the timing of the anchor is crucial. Ensure that you are at the height of your experience before you apply it. Third is the uniqueness of the stimulus. Remember, it should not be something that you would do on a normal day to day basis. Fourth, the anchor has to be repeated and reinforced in the same way from time to time. Practice makes perfect. Finally, repetition of applying the anchor, like everything else we do, will ensure its effectiveness.

Anchoring

First, decide on an anchor. Ensure that whatever you choose as your anchor is unique. Second, and most important, know what resource it is that you want! It may be motivation, happiness, confidence, security, patience or strength. Whatever resource you need, you can create an anchor for yourself and fire at will in order to rid yourself of the negative states you are currently experiencing. We all have had an experience in our lives in which the particular resource that we want occurred and can be engaged. If you cannot think of a specific situation, I encourage you to think of a role model who has the required qualities you desire. It can be someone you know, or someone you have seen and heard on TV. Once you have thought of a time or a role model, you will need to fully associate yourself into that experience.

Take a few deep breaths and really relax…disassociate yourself from your conscious mind and float right back into your body, to that time when you were experiencing your desired resource in totality…see what you saw…hear what you heard…and really feel what you felt…take your time with this. Really get into the experience.

This is important. At the very peak of your experience, when you can feel your state and physiology changing and mixing in with that internal representation, apply your chosen anchor and hold it for anywhere between five and fifteen seconds. In this time, you will be creating that neurological link between the internal representation, state and physiology and the anchor you have chosen to apply. When you are ready, open your eyes. Take notice of how you feel. Change your state by doing some pushups or jumping jacks and clearing your mind. Now, test your anchor by applying it again for fifteen seconds with your eyes open and totally conscious. Are you able to experience that same feeling from your past at that very moment? If you cannot, you may need to start the process over again and really make the picture bigger and brighter. Make sure you turn up the volume of any sounds associated. If you were successful, then you have just given yourself a resource to help you out in any situation you so choose in your future.

I have been very fortunate to have been allowed to help a variety of people out with this technique in and out of the training room. The ability to empower someone to anchor resources that they were previously lacking in their personal and professional lives has really benefited their health on a total scale. The difference between a client who is upset and slouched coming in for a training session, and one that is smiling, upbeat and positive will do wonders for their ability to achieve the results that they desire. Likewise for yourself, find out what resources you want and when you want them, and give yourself a gift that will make you feel totally empowered any day, any time, anywhere. Remember, whether or not you are able to do something is dependent on the way you use that machine between your ears. Whether you think you can or can’t achieve something, you’re right.

Adam is a certified Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner recognized internationally through the INLPTA. A former professional athlete in the CFL, he currently trains full time out of GoodLife Fitness in Burlington, Ontario.