Most people have experienced a time of needing or wanting to be in a different mood than they are actually in. Many people simply accept their moods as static and unable to shift easily. Many others are unaware that there is a way to shift your mood quickly and easily, without the use of drugs. This mood shift is referred to as "anchoring" a positive emotional state. In his "Encyclopaedia of Systemic Neuro-Linguistic Programming," published in 2000, Robert Dilts explains that anchoring is the process of associating your internal response with a mental or environmental trigger that can be quickly re-accessed.
Step 1
Choose a positive anchor. Consider using hand positions that you do not normally do (such as touching the thumb and fourth finger of your non-dominant hand), as this kind of anchor can be done anywhere and at any time with minimal effort.
Step 2
Think of a specific place and time when you actually felt the way you would like to feel. Make this visualization more real for yourself. Imagine seeing what you saw near you at the time. Try to hear the sounds you heard during that time and to smell any scents associated with the place and time that you felt the way you would like to feel in the present moment. Imagine yourself touching something in your ideal scene and feeling all the emotions that are part of the flood of emotion. Try to pay particular attention to where those feelings show up as physical sensations in your body.
Step 3
Continue the visualization from Step 2 until you feel totally associated with the positive state of being that you would like to experience in the moment. Focus especially on feeling the emotions of the scene as strongly as you can. Set your anchor. Touch your thumb to your fourth finger now, if you used that anchor example.
Step 4
Relax for a minute or two. Allow yourself to become distracted with something else.
Step 5
Repeat as necessary.
Step 6
Test your anchor by using it (touching your thumb to your fourth finger, for example). If the feelings that you associate with your anchor do not flood through your body, repeat Step 2 through Step 4 until the anchor creates the emotional state and feelings you have chosen.
Tips and Warnings
- Sitting with your eyes closed in meditation for as few as five to 10 minutes can also do wonders to help change your mood, as can practicing a couple yoga poses, particularly inversions like headstand or shoulderstand.
References
- "Encyclopaedia of Systemic Neuro-Linguistic Programming;" Robert Dilts; 2000
- "The Sivananda Yoga Teacher's Training Manual;" Swami Vishnu-Devananda; 2000
