Remove Fear, Doubt and Anxiety and Do Things You Never Thought You Could

My Story

I want to share with you guys today a problem I have been having in my personal life and how I have been overcoming it using a simple but extraordinarily powerful technique.  One year ago I became an EMT in New York.  I had always been book smart and the class was pretty easy for me.  I graduated with one of the highest averages of the year and everyone told me I would end up becoming a great EMT, but that is not exactly what happened.  Instead I found myself being paralyzed by overwhelming feelings of fear and anxiety.  It seemed like every time the alarms went off all my knowledge receded to a far out-of-reach corner of my brain, and I felt completely useless.

I considered quitting but I’m not a huge fan of just packing up my bags, and I remembered the first night I rode in an ambulance with an old friend and saw how much she had changed from who she used to be.  She was calm and collected and knew exactly what to do.  I joined EMS so I could become that person.  Resolving to face my fears I continued to ride and dealt with the panic anyway that I could.

The Swish Pattern

Recently I discovered a process that not only helped me deal with the anxiety that I felt but completely eradicated it and left me in a much more effective and resourceful state.  It takes only a few minutes to complete, works instantly, and can be used to change almost any behavior.

The Swish Pattern

1. Identify both the behavior you wish to change and create a mental image of it. Spend a few seconds hearing, seeing, and feeling what you would in the particular situation.  You want to make this image a real as possible, in my case I was actually able to feel the anxiety I felt when the alarms went off.
2. Create an image of the new behavior you wish to replace it with. Make this image as motivating as possible.  Brighten up the colors, enhance the smells, and view this image as clear as you possibly can. Now you have the old (negative) picture and a new (positive and useful) picture.
3. Bring that old picture into your mind again but imagine a small dark version of your new picture in one of the corners. Begin to let yourself see and feel the big picture as if it were real.
4. As soon as the negative behavior or feelings arise visualize the new picture expanding and pushing the old one away out of view. Let this happen as fast as possible as if the small image is exploding and the large old image is shooting away into the distance.  It might help you to make a ’swishing’ sound to emphasize this change.  As the new picture takes over hold on to it for a few seconds and experience it as if it were real.
5. Clear your mind by briefly thinking about ducks (or any other unrelated topic), and then repeat the process until it become difficult for you to see the old picture clearly. This resets your brain and allows you to start over from the beginning.  I usually repeat these steps about 5 to 7 times or until the old image is replaced by the new one without thinking about it.

When I first tried this technique I was amazed at how well it worked.  With only a few repetitions I couldn’t bring up the feelings of fear or anxiety that I normally felt because they we’re instantly replaced with the calm resourceful feelings I wanted to replace them with.  When I rode my shift on the ambulance later that day I found myself completely relaxed while waiting at the ambulance house.  As the alarms went off I was aware of some fear but it felt like it was miles away and it had absolutely no impact on my performance.

You can use the swish pattern to help you quit smoking, overcome phobias or achieve almost anything else that you can think of.  It may appear to be simple and almost silly but it effective and the best way to find out is to try it yourself.  If you do please leave a comment at the bottom of this page and let us know how it goes!  Thanks!

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