Great tennis players go through highly personal rituals to help them concentrate before they serve. Baseball players do the same before they step up to the plate to face the pitcher. Competitors in all sports use routines to center themselves. Would we all benefit from similar routines before we step up to the plate in our homes and our offices?
I listened to a great podcast from "3minutehypnosis.com". The episode for "Instant Confidence" takes you through a long hypnosis intended to create a ritual that--unlike bouncing a tennis ball or kissing a baseball bat--is something you can do in any environment without getting noticed. You choose your ritual early in the podcast. The ritual is called an "anchor". The anchor includes your choice of a subtle hand gesture, an image of someone--a hero--who you feel epitomizes confidence, and a word you say to yourself such as "strong" or the name of your hero. Then you are guided in the podcast to recall a time in your life in which you felt totally in command of the situation, felt you were on a roll, at your best. You then "fire your anchor"--your hand gesture, image, and the word you say to yourself. You are guided to repeat this several more times during the hypnosis session, recalling different wonderful times in your life when you felt in total control. At the end of the session, you now have a tool you can use in any situation to generate a sense of confidence and ease.
I have been using this technique for a week now and find it so simple yet so powerful. In meetings, at home, in almost any situation, if I notice some stress I slyly, secretly "fire my anchor" and I always seem to feel more in command of the situation.
