10/28/2026
Why do some clients feel great after a session, then slide right back?
This clip takes on one of the best-known NLP techniques, anchoring, and names its blind spot. An anchor can help someone access a resourceful state on demand. But if nothing changes in the relationships and environment that produced the stuck state, the anchor ends up as a Band-Aid.
The principle is simple. States don’t come from nowhere. Anxiety at work may be kept alive by a manager, a family pattern, or a role someone keeps playing. Change the state without touching the system, and the system keeps pulling the old state back.
That is why NLP and systemic coaching fit together so well. NLP offers precise tools for shifting state in the moment. A systemic view asks who and what keeps re-creating the problem.
A practical step: when you anchor a resourceful state, also map where the old state shows up and who is usually involved. Then plan for that context.
Are you changing the moment, or the pattern that keeps producing it?