Most people can tell of occasions when one of their senses is stimulated and it triggers a memory, complete with the thoughts and feelings of the time. For example, when I catch the scent of Imperial Leather soap it takes me straight back to a happy time at my Aunt's house when I was a child!

This is how triggers work. They are usually accidental - we just happen to come across them - but we can also deliberately create them to our advantage. A trigger can appeal to any of your five senses - something you can either see, hear, feel, taste or smell.

What if we take conscious control of our state of mind? Consider the implications - if we really can choose, then we can select a state of mind that is suitable for the occasion.

You could choose to be confident for the big presentation, be creative for team brainstorming and be fully relaxed when you want to unwind. Creating an appropriate state of mind is the mark of a top performer.

The opposite is often nearer the truth. Frequently we attempt things with an unhelpful state of mind working against us. We allow distractions to dominate when we want to concentrate; we let anxiety detract from our performance and tension to spoil our relaxation. Getting into the right state for the activity in hand is a skill that is well worth developing.

Getting practical, how do we do this?

First of all, decide what state of mind you want to create and in what situation you wish to apply it.

As an example, let's suppose you want to be really confident for an important meeting that's coming up. The preparation is covered in these 7 steps:

1. Choose a trigger that you can take with you into the meeting. Remember a trigger can be something you see, hear, feel, smell or taste. For a meeting the trigger would need to unobtrusive and something that would not be activated accidentally. Many people use the trigger of pressing a finger and thumb together

2. Now think of a past situation when you felt confident, really confident

3. For a few moments, immerse yourself in this memory - see again what you saw then, hear what you were heard then and feel what you felt. Check that you get a strong sense of confidence (if you find you don't get a strong sense of confidence go back to step 2 and choose a different memory)

4. Now with your chosen trigger ready, re-immerse yourself in the memory you chose in 2 and when the feeling of confidence reaches its peak, press your finger and thumb together (this step is teaching your brain to associate the trigger with a confident state of mind)

5. Repeat step 4 at least three times. In fact, the more repetitions you do, the more confident you'll feel in the meeting

6. What is your favourite film? (this question is simply to break the continuity of your thinking ready for the next step)

7. Now you are ready to test your trigger. Press your finger and thumb together and you'll shift into a confident state of mind (if not, you can return to step 2)

Now you are fully equipped - when the day arrives and you actually go to the meeting, you know that by simply activating the trigger (finger and thumb) you will switch into a confident state of mind.

Once you are familiar with this technique, you can set up as many different triggers as you like, each linked to a different state of mind. Now for important situations, you don't need to leave your state of mind of chance - you can choose!