The anchor exercise

Many of us, have at some time, felt like we ruled the world. Pete Cohen shows how you can tap into that feeling whenever you want, with a few simple 'anchoring' exercises.



How do I do it?
All you have to do is remember a moment when you were supremely confident. It doesn't matter where you were or what you were doing - we can even be confident when we're asleep!

Once you've got the sensation of confidence, then close your eyes and start to let that feeling increase.
Now picture where you'd like to carry this confidence with you. This may be to a party, a public speaking situation, playing sport, a job interview - or just everyday life situations.
Picture yourself in whichever location you want to take your feelings of confidence to - whether it's in an interview room or in front of an audience.
Then start to increase that feeling of confidence even more.
Physically feel where the sensation of confidence is coming from. Is it from your stomach, your head or your hands?
Now start to move this sensation around your body, running from your head to your feet and back up again. Increase the feeling even more. You may want to start counting from one to ten, raising the feeling of confidence in your body with each number.
Now you're overflowing with confidence, and about to 'explode'. What do you do? This is the clever part. What you need to do is think of an 'anchor'. The anchor is a physical gesture - anything from punching the air to giving your thigh a pinch.
You should perform this anchor movement when you're at your point of maximum confidence.
You should follow this process a few times to get the hang of it, as well as make it more effective. What it will enable you to do is to trigger off that feeling of confidence whenever you want. So if you're going into an interview and need a boost of confidence it could simply be a case of pinching your thigh - and bingo! You're ready to conquer the world!