Of Crepes and Anchoring
Every day now, Tikoy, my youngest son, has requested for crepes for merienda. He loves them so much, he can down 8 in one sitting! 😁
He asked for the same this afternoon, and I asked him to wait upstairs until I call him when they’re ready.
He frowned a bit. I asked him what’s wrong and he said “I want to stay down here because I want to smell the crepes while they’re cooking!” That is how much he loves them. 😂
There are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations that evoke memories or feelings within us. In NLP talk, we call them Anchors.
An example would be, say, if we taste a certain dish and it brings up memories of our childhood. Or, say, a certain cologne reminds us of someone we know. We may see a beach that reminds of our summer vacations, or we see a dog and it reminds us of a dog that terrified us when we were younger. We’ve learned to associate one thing with another thing, and it is now programmed into our brains to run automatically.
What’s interesting is we can use these anchors proactively, to help us overcome fears or anxieties.
Say, for example, you are frozen with fear at the thought of speaking in front of a group. If so, recall a time when you felt fully confident at another setting, perhaps when you first aced a test that you solidly prepared for, or you made a presentation to your boss with flying colors, or you learned to joyously, confidently bike your way around the block.
See that pleasant moment in your mind. Fully recall that particular experience – what were you seeing, what were you hearing, what time of day was it, the smells, who were with you, and most importantly all the feelings you felt, particularly when you definitely knew you fully confident.
When you have that picture of confidence clearly in your head, anchor it, that is, do something that will help you to recall that experience, like clasping your hands together or pressing on your should or arm. This tells your brain to associate that touch or that pressure with that picture and feeling of confidence.
Before you walk up on stage to deliver your talk, touch or press the anchor you created to trigger that memory of confidence (and other feelings) in your mind and let that memory help you overcome your fear and bring you calm.
It is such a simple but effective tool to help you whenever you wish to achieve something you want. It helps to ground you in positive past memories that you can use in your present moments, and also going forward.
For Tikoy, he loves the smell of fresh crepes being cooked. I pray that when he grows up, the smell triggers the memory of a mommy who loves him and his siblings so very much.
Try it out. What anchors would be useful for you to create the experiences you would like?
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