The SWISH is a technique for utilizing these distinctions in
thinking to replace a problem state with a desirable state. It is
fast and powerful, as well as being great for dealing with
unwanted behavioral habits. Note that the SWISH will not
necessarily be ideal for deeper, more significant issues. There
are other techniques later in the book that can help with
these.1 First, identify the response in yourself that you want to
change. What exactly is the reaction you would like to
replace? For example, you might want to change a state
such as anxiety or apprehension.
2 Identify precisely what it is that triggers this response.
There will be something specific that immediately
precedes your reaction. Identifying this trigger is a key part
of the process. If, for example, it is a response to the way in
which someone speaks to you, identify what it is they say or
what it is about the way they say it that triggers your
reaction. Re-create this in your thinking in exactly the way it
happens. If it is the way in which someone speaks to you,
then hear them saying the words in exactly the way they do.
If it is the sight of an audience in front of you, imagine
yourself in that situation looking out at the audience in the
way you do. See exactly what you see as if you were there.
3 Now determine which facets of the way you think about this
trigger have the greatest effect. There will be some
elements that intensify your reaction. The SWISH lends
itself most readily to visual triggers and most often the size
and brightness of the image have the greatest impact. For
example, if it is the sight of a certain person who works for
you that triggers a response, experiment with each
distinction in turn, putting the image back the way it was
before you experiment with the next one. The aim is to find
the one or two that intensify the response. Although these
elements are currently triggering the response that you don’t
want, the aim of the SWISH is to hook these elements to the
response that you do want. In so doing, you are making your
own resources work for you rather than against you.26 NLP AT WORK
SHORTCUT TO
MANAGING YOUR
THINKING
THE SWISH