How to Stop Doomscrolling Fast with This 60-Second NLP Trick
Have you ever caught yourself glued to your phone, scrolling for no reason—and suddenly an hour’s gone?
If you’re in sales or a performance-driven field, you know that time isn’t just money. It’s deals, calls, commissions, and opportunities.
Yet doomscrolling—that endless, unconscious thumb-flicking loop—steals more from us than just time. It drains our focus, dulls our edge, and floods our brain with junk instead of clarity.
What if you could break that habit in just a few minutes… without willpower?
This is where the NLP “Swish Pattern” comes in. It’s fast, effective, and brain-friendly. Best of all? You don’t need to be a psychologist to use it.
In this post, I’ll break down exactly what the Swish Pattern is, how it works, and how you can use it right now to cut down your scrolling and level up your performance.
📉 Why Scrolling Is a Sales Killer
Let’s get real.
As a sales professional, your biggest asset isn’t your pitch. It’s your presence.
But every time you slip into the scroll loop, you’re disconnecting from reality. You’re conditioning your brain to chase dopamine hits from reels, shorts, and stories—instead of calls, follow-ups, and deals.
Here’s what compulsive scrolling actually costs you:
- Focus: Your attention span tanks. You become reactive, not strategic.
- Confidence: You compare yourself to others and feel behind.
- Time: Three hours a day = 21 hours/week = over 1,000 hours/year.
- Sales: Missed leads, half-baked follow-ups, and rushed calls.
Let’s fix it.
🧠 Enter NLP: Rewiring the Habit Loop
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is the study of how our brain uses images, sounds, and feelings to create patterns—habits.
Most habits aren’t rational. They’re automatic. That means yelling at yourself to “just stop scrolling!” rarely works.
You need to change the pattern behind the behavior.
That’s what the Swish Pattern does.
It takes the automatic image your brain associates with “I’m bored → I scroll,” and swaps it with a new, empowered identity—one that’s in control, focused, and intentional.
✨ What Is the NLP Swish Pattern?
The Swish Pattern is like a mental movie edit. You interrupt the automatic “doomscroll” sequence and replace it with a new mental scene.
Here’s the core idea:
- Picture the old behavior (compulsive scrolling).
- Fade it out.
- Replace it with a new image: your ideal self in control.
- Do this repeatedly with speed and intensity.
- Your brain starts to wire the new behavior in as the default.
Let’s walk through it step by step.
🎯 Step-by-Step: How to Use the Swish Pattern to Stop Scrolling
Step 1: Identify the Trigger Image
Think of the exact moment you usually scroll. Maybe it’s during a lull in your day, right after a call, or while waiting in line.
Close your eyes. Picture yourself doing it.
Where is that image in your mind? In front of you? Off to the left? Is it dark or bright? Still or moving?
Lock it in.
Step 2: Draw a Red Frame Around It
This makes it more conscious. You’re telling your brain, “This is the thing I want to change.”
Step 3: Design Your New Self-Image
Now imagine the opposite: the version of you who’s in control.
You’re calm. Focused. Maybe reviewing your pipeline or making a key call instead of scrolling.
You look sharp, confident, and energized. That’s your new mental photo.
Make it bright, vivid, and emotionally powerful.
Step 4: Swish!
Now…
Mentally fling the old scrolling image away—make it fly off into the distance, smaller and dimmer.
At the same time, bring the new image rushing forward, bright, bold, and dominant.
Make a fun sound in your head: “SWISSSSH!” (this engages your subconscious).
Boom. One rep.
Step 5: Repeat (5x Fast)
You’ve got to do this quickly and with intensity.
Do it five times, back-to-back.
Old image fades… new one takes over. SWISH.
By the fifth time, your brain starts to favor the new response.
⚡ Why It Works (Even If It Feels Weird)
This works because the brain loves speed and contrast.
It’s not about logic—it’s about disrupting the automatic loop and giving your mind a new pathway.
This technique has been used for everything from nail-biting to public speaking to phobias. Now you’re using it to beat the scroll monster.
You’re not just stopping a habit. You’re installing a new identity: someone who uses time with purpose.
📱 Your Phone Isn’t Evil—But Your Pattern Might Be
Let’s be clear: your phone isn’t the problem.
The problem is when your phone becomes your default dopamine dispenser. When it hijacks your focus and makes you reactive instead of proactive.
With the Swish Pattern, you’re not “quitting” your phone. You’re simply taking back control.
You’re choosing when, how, and why you scroll—on your terms.
🚀 Real Talk: What Changes After You Swish?
- You’ll catch yourself before diving into the scroll.
- You’ll feel weird picking up your phone for no reason.
- You’ll notice space open up in your day.
- You’ll feel more alert, sharper, and in charge.
Imagine what you could do with an extra 2–3 hours per day.
• Reach out to 5 more prospects
• Master objection handling
• Hit the gym
• Launch a side hustle
• Simply enjoy your life
📚 Bonus: Make It Stick with Anchors
Want to double the power of the Swish Pattern?
Add an NLP anchor.
While visualizing your new empowered self, squeeze your thumb and middle finger together—or touch your heart—or nod slowly.
That physical cue becomes a trigger you can use anytime in real life to re-access the state of control.
It’s like a remote control for your focus. You learn this anchor and many others when you join The Feeling Good Machine Online Training..
🔄 Maintenance: When to Repeat
Habits are like weeds—they creep back if ignored.
So use the Swish Pattern…
- Once daily for the first week
- Then whenever you feel the scroll urge return
- Or before key work blocks (calls, emails, meetings)
Each rep sharpens the pattern and deepens the shift.
🧲 Final Tip: Pair the Swish Pattern with Action
Don’t just remove the bad habit. Replace it.
Decide in advance: “When I feel the urge to scroll, I’ll instead…”
- Fire my anchor
- Think of the picture of my ideal self
- Review my leads
- Take 3 deep breaths
- Write down one thing I’m grateful for
- Watch a motivational sales clip
- Text a prospect
Redirect that energy into momentum.
💡 Final Thoughts: Your Brain, Rewired
Look—doomscrolling is a modern addiction especially during Covid. You’re not lazy. You’re just human.
But humans are adaptable. And your brain is programmable.
The Swish Pattern gives you the keyboard.
Use it. Rewire your reflexes. And show up each day as the version of you that closes, leads, and wins.
The time you take back is yours to reinvest—in results, in people, in purpose.
Now SWISH it.
—
🧩 Want Help Installing This?
Check out the video version of this post, where I guide you step-by-step through the Swish Pattern in real-time.
Watch here →Stop Scrolling For Good
—
You could also be interested in the world’s best sales training.
See the Free Hypnotic Selling Blueprint first and then if you like it, you can register for the Hypnotic Selling Home Study Course.
Thank You
Henri Cousineau
Meta Master Practitioner of N.L.P.
Founder of The Hypnotic Selling Machine Concept
Henri at thehypnoticsellingmachine.com
#NLP, #Doomscrolling, #SalesTraining, #MentalFocus, #StopScrolling, #ProductivityHacks, #NLPForSales, #SwishPattern, #TimeManagement, #DigitalDetox
