How to Do the NLP Swish Pattern

Last Updated: June 17, 2022 Approved

The NLP Swish Pattern is used to break limiting behaviours or unwanted habits. The method involves imagining both an undesirable or triggering situation, and a version of the same situation if everything goes perfectly. You then "swish" the two images so that the desirable version takes up more space in your mind's eye. This article will walk you through the process of the "swish".

1

Find the trigger.

The first part of the process involves discovering the internal trigger for the unwanted behaviour or habit. So ask the question "what is the first thing that happens so that I know that (the behaviour) is on its way?" Let's say you get nervous before a presentation as an example, then, what has to happen in order for you to get nervous? Do you have to see something, hear something or feel something? What is it?

2

Identify a picture with the trigger.

We now need to get a picture in our head of that trigger, so that it comes to life for us. When you think of that trigger do you have a picture of it? Can you get a picture of it? In terms of presenting or public speaking many people get nervous by imagining themselves on stage forgetting their words. This is the sort of internal picture that we want.

3

Find an alternative picture.

Imagine things going the way you want them to. Rather than getting nervous before public speaking, we may prefer to be really confident. In order to feel really confident therefore, what would we need to see in our mind's eye? Rather than seeing ourselves on stage forgetting our words, we may prefer to imagine being on stage and getting rapturous applause. Get a picture that is empowering for you and gets you what you want.

4

Hold both pictures in your mind's eye.

We now have a desired picture (what we want to happen) and an undesired picture (what is currently triggering the behaviour). Get both pictures in mind. Bring the undesired picture to right in front of you, big and bold. Make sure that you are seeing things in this picture just as you would in real life, through your own eyes. Get the desired picture, and make it really small and dark, put it in the bottom left-hand corner of your mind's eye. Make sure that in this picture you see yourself in the picture.

5

Perform the swish.

You now have both pictures in mind. You probably have your eyes closed at this point. The undesired picture is big and bold and right in front of you. The desired picture is small and dark and in the bottom left-hand corner of your mind's eye. Simultaneously, with an imaginary swish, you are going switch the pictures over. You are going to shrink the undesired picture down to the bottom left corner and you are going to explode the desired picture up to the centre of your minds eye, big and bold and full colour. Do that now..SWIIIIISH.

6

Open your eyes and take a deep breath.

Clear your mind's eye.

7

Repeat.

Close your eyes again and get both pictures back the way that they were originally. Go back to the "Preforming the swish" step.
- Repeat as many times as you need to until you find that it is impossible to get the undesired picture. You may find that it takes up to 100 swishes for the picture to disappear, but it may be much quicker than that. Normally it becomes difficult to get the picture back and then after a few more swishes it becomes impossible.

8

Test the new behaviour.

Imagine that you are about to do a big presentation, you are about to get on stage, how do you feel? See yourself being really relaxed as you imagine getting rapturous applause.