Belief: Letting Go of the Old, Embracing the New

Goal of the Technique:

Belief “Wishy-Washy”

A strategy for letting go of limiting beliefs and adopting new, empowering ones.

Step 1: Person A identifies a belief about themselves that they dislike—some belief that, if they didn’t have it, would give them more behavioral flexibility and more choices. They do not share the content of the belief with B or C.

Step 2: Person B elicits the submodalities of the strong, unwanted belief.

Step 3: A then identifies a neutral choice situation where any option is acceptable—for example: “I could have fish and chips for dinner, or maybe I’ll find something else on the menu that looks better. It doesn’t really matter what I choose.” This is the belief we call “wishy-washy.”

Step 4: B elicits the submodalities of the wishy-washy belief.

Step 5: B then guides A through the submodalities of the unwanted belief, changing each one into the corresponding submodality of the wishy-washy version. Identify which specific change makes the biggest difference. Be sure to return the submodalities to their original form before proceeding to the next change.

Step 6: A now identifies a belief they would like to have—one that would be more useful than the old belief. The new belief should be framed in positive terms, seen as a process rather than a fixed goal. Include an ecology check: “How would this belief, if you held it, affect others? Your work? Does the belief align with your values and with those of people close to you?” If necessary, modify the belief to meet these conditions.

Step 7: Convert the new belief into the submodalities of the wishy-washy belief.

Step 8: Using the notes from Step 5, B now instructs A on how to weaken the old belief and turn it into a wishy-washy state. For example, if the most impactful submodality change was “distance,” B would instruct A to move the old belief farther away and then bring it back at the same distance as the wishy-washy belief.

Step 9: Now “snap” the new belief (its images and sounds) into the configuration of the old belief’s submodalities.

Step 10: Conduct a test and a future pace. B asks A what they now believe about themselves. If A has truly adopted the new belief, what will they do now that they couldn’t before? A then imagines themselves going through a sequence of new behavior.