Question:
When I practice anchoring, something unexpected happens. For example, if I want to anchor a positive feeling and use the gesture of rubbing my index finger and thumb together (like shaping play dough), I notice that not only does rubbing my fingers trigger the positive emotion, but sometimes the positive feeling itself causes me to subconsciously start rubbing those fingers together. It feels like the anchor and the resource become one. I haven’t seen this discussed before—could you explain what’s going on here?

Answer:
What you’re experiencing relates to how kinesthetic anchors work and their lingering effects. Unlike purely visual anchors—such as a word that evokes an image—which tend to have immediate, momentary triggers, physical or tactile anchors often create a subtle, ongoing residual effect that takes time to fade.

When you establish an anchor by associating a positive emotional state with a specific physical gesture (like touching thumb and finger), it’s important to release that anchor at the right moment—usually after the emotional intensity peaks—and then physically “shake it out” or move to break the state. This helps keep the anchor clean and distinct.

With techniques like the “circle of excellence,” you intentionally use this residual kinesthetic effect to deepen and reinforce the positive state, layering those feelings to intensify the overall experience.

This process is similar to how strong positive experiences in relationships build up over time: good feelings accumulate, so that simply seeing the person again can reactivate the whole cascade of emotions.

Because you’re physically rubbing your fingers together while feeling positive, you’re actually reinforcing the loop—much like a microphone picking up sound from a speaker and causing feedback. This amplification strengthens the anchor.

On the flip side, this feedback loop can sometimes work negatively. If someone connects a bad emotional state to a certain trigger in their environment, the trigger can then intensify those negative feelings, creating a downward spiral. The tricky part is that this often happens unconsciously, making it difficult to notice and break the cycle.

I hope this sheds light on what you’ve observed and helps you understand the dynamic between the resource state and the physical anchor.