Golf_ The Mind Game - Marlin M. Mackenzie [17]
If you would like to establish the finger-pressing anchor related to the good shot which you identified as Sherlock, press your finger on the specific part of your body and consciously see the internal image and hear the internal sound that were part of the remembered shot. The finger pressure should be maintained until you feel the return of the full force of the emotional sensations you had while hitting that past shot. Repeat this process several times each day for the next week or two. With this anchor-firing practice you’ll eventually be able to reactivate the emotional state associated with the past shot very quickly—in a matter of seconds.
If you want to contextualize the anchor for that past good shot, select either a habitual movement, an external visual cue, or an external auditory cue that is always present on the golf course to serve as a new substitute anchor. Practice firing this new anchor three or four times a day for several weeks until it works as well as the finger pressure; this may be done on or off the course. When off the course just think about the external cue or make the habitual movement until the emotional state can be produced in a few seconds.
One professional golfer looks at the printed logo on his golf bag; it’s his V-anchor for generating determination. Another golfer looks at the end of the grip on his clubs; this is his V-anchor to activate a state of concentration. A third golfer listens to the rhythmic sound of his clubs rattling in the bag as he walks between shots; this A-anchor returns him to a feeling of calmness after he makes a poor shot.
Each of these golfers used finger pressure on some part of their body when they first identified and anchored their resource state during the Sherlock Holmes Exercise. They fired the finger-pressure anchor on the golf course to regenerate the desired state. Then they transferred the feeling anchored by the finger pressure to a new A-, V-, or K-anchor that is always present on the course.
The golfers practiced firing these new anchors both on and off the course. When at home or in the office, they imagined they were on the course. Then they saw, heard, or felt their particular anchor, and consciously generated their desired emotional state. After they were able to generate the desired state in association with a particular anchor within a matter of seconds, they stopped formal practice and allowed their unconscious minds to take over—just the way hearing a certain song can automatically generate a feeling of love for a special person.
ANCHORING
Identify the resource (the emotional or physical state from your past) needed to accomplish a particular outcome or to execute a particular shot.
Remember a time in your life when you had an experience during which that resource was used successfully.
“Go Inside” and see, hear, and feel again what you saw, heard, and felt during that past resourceful experience.
Intensify the internal emotional feelings that were present during (not after) the time when you were actively involved in accomplishing a particular outcome or executing a particular shot.
Anchor the internal emotional feelings or state with finger pressure and with an image and sound that were directly associated with that past experience.
Contextualize the anchor to a sight, sound, touch, or habitual movement that will always be present in the golf environment.
Practice “firing” the anchor four or five times per day for about two or three weeks so that the internal emotional feelings can be regenerated within a matter of a few seconds.
Now that you know how to anchor a resource, you’ll learn the practical uses of anchors in subsequent chapters.