Anchoring For Success

Anchoring is perhaps the most valuable way to increase your success in tennis. Anchoring is creating a simple trigger that will automatically elicit a certain emotional response. For example, let's say you found that you played your best game of tennis when you felt “unstoppable”.

You could anchor this feeling in such as way to trigger it on demand. Just create a cue that you link to the feeling of being unstoppable. Then, any time you wanted to feel unstoppable, you just accessed that cue.

At it's simplest level, it's Pavlovian. Just like Pavlov's dog could be made to salivate by hearing a bell, you could anchor a favorable emotion state to a similar, simple stimuli. Actually, you experience anchoring everyday, when your name is called out by someone special that loves you. You immediately respond to your name being called out by that person with a pleasant feeling.

To anchor yourself for success in tennis you must do three things:

1. Get yourself into the specific state your wish to anchor

2. Provide a unique stimulus every time you reach the peak of that state

3. Reinforce the stimulus with repetition

To learn how to do each of these steps, click here...

Assuming A “Peak State”

What did it feel like when you were on top of your tennis game? How did you stand? How did you breath? What thoughts did you think? Use these questions and questions similar to them to work yourself back into the same state. Once you have gotten yourself to experience this peak state again, then anchor it with a stimulus.

It's important that you only use your anchor after you have reached the highest intensity level of that state. Otherwise, you might anchor many different feelings at once, instead of that one particular feeling of success.

Also, it's important that the stimulus be unique, so that your brain does not mistake it for something else. It would not wise to use a stimulus like putting your hands in your pocket with assuming a peak successful state because it is likely that putting your hands in your pocket is already linked to something else.

To create the best anchors, combine visual, auditory and kinesthetic cues. For example, touching your shoulder with a certain amount of pressure while saying the word “power” would be a great anchor.

Replicating the Anchor

Your body has to create an association with the anchor and your peak state of success. Associations are formed with consistent repetition. This means that you have to use the same anchor each time. If you were touching your left shoulder with heavy pressure while saying the word power, always touch your left shoulder and always say the word power in the same way.

Also, you must anchor your success state several times, preferably 10 or more. Each time, you will find it is easy to go into your ultimate state of success. Eventually, through repetition, you can go into it immediately as soon as you use your anchor.

So, to summarize:

1. Think of a time you were totally confident

2. Create an anchor that combines touching a certain part of your body with saying a certain word in a certain way

3. Break your state of confidence by changing your posture.

4. Try to re-enter your state again by using your anchor

5. When you reach total confidence again, re-anchor with the same anchor

6. Repeat the process until you automatically enter a state of total confidence just by using your anchor