As my holiday gift to you, I would like to give you something you can use today. You will be amazed at how many times what I'm about to share will come in handy, if you use it.

This technique is called anchoring. Today, anchoring is generally considered part of the body of knowledge known as NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) which has its roots in Pavlovian behavior modification. You remember Pavlov. He was the Russian scientist who, in about the year 1900, made dogs salivate by ringing a bell.

Here's how he did it: He would start by ringing a bell while letting dogs smell meat powder. They would salivate from smelling the meat powder. Eventually, he only needed to ring a bell and this alone caused the dogs to salivate. The dogs had associated the bell with hunger. The bell was an anchor for salivation. Pretty simple, huh?

Unfortunately, you are exposed to this form of conditioning every day.

Did you know that TV commercial makers use anchoring to manipulate you? TV commercials will show you a sexy person smoking to cause you to associate (anchor) sexiness with smoking. Beer commercials are notorious for showing women in bikinis so that you will associate beer with sex. Fast food commercials show happy families clogging their arteries to cause you to associate eating garbage with being happy.

This technique has been used AGAINST you countless times.

Now, I'm going to hand you the keys to the car and let you take control of your anchoring. It is possible to apply this same basic technique to almost any problem. Smoking, overeating, nail biting, fear of public speaking, all of these conditions are treatable with NLP. On many of my hypnosis recordings, I use NLP to reinforce the positive change.

Let's take a look at how Pavlov's discovery can HELP you right now. I teach this technique to established actors who need a little boost between multi-million dollar movies. Yes, even established actors feel a little self-conscious sometimes. And they love quick powerful techniques which they can use before going on camera.

So here is how positive anchoring works:

Step 1. Think of three times in your life when you felt very powerful and in control and write them down (one sentence describing each).

Step 2. Stand alone in a room and think of the first situation. Recall it in full color with sound and anything else that could make it real to you.

Step 3. At the moment when you feel fully back in that moment, slap your left shoulder with your right hand and say, "Power!"

Step 4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each of the three memories.

N.B. Remember, you want to anchor each feeling by slapping your shoulder when you feel the memory at its MOST INTENSE moment. In NLP, this process of reinforcing the anchor is called stacking anchors.

Now that you have the anchor installed, you can "fire it off" as needed. The next time you are in a situation requiring confidence, slap your left shoulder with your right hand and say, "Power!" Just as sure as Pavlov's dogs salivated when they heard that bell, and just as sure as countless people associate smoking with sexiness, you will feel confidence surging through you because now your mind associates confidence with that slapping motion and the word "power"!

Occasionally feeling a lack of confidence is a normal part of being human. Having an effective strategy for immediately turning this into confidence is a normal part of being outstanding.

Want to learn more about hypnosis and NLP? I have several books and one video available for you. Click here to see them now.

Have a happy holiday season and an OUTSTANDING New Year!

Steve G. Jones
Clinical Hypnotherapist