[Originally written February 25, 2018]
Sometimes in life, a miracle shows up at your door, and you know it. When this happens, I always say yes. Flashback to October 2016. I was in the thick of producing a new product launch at Wellshift, my first company, and unsure of a lot of things. Unsure of where money was coming from, how I would take us to the next level, and who would support me in doing so. As is my nature, I pushed on into the darkness, sure there would be a light.
Due to the nature of my work being in wellness, I often get an influx of healers and wellness practicioners reaching out to partner or simply connect, and share learnings. On this particular day, I got a message on LinkedIn. The woman's name was Joni Gilton. Her title read something like, "Performance Coach for Women." She asked me to coffee. I obliged. And a few days later our appointment arrived.
"I asked the universe for a powerful client, and you've arrived," she said. "I'd like to gift you 6 sessions, so you can see how transformative my work is. All I ask is that you refer me when it feels right, in the future." YES! I thought. "Yes." I said. Hello, miracle, thank you for arriving. What we would work on together, I wasn't sure, but we set up our first session for a week later, and I trusted.
Back to the transition period I was in with Wellshift, I was working diligently in the days after my meeting with Joni to prepare for a Demo Day I was signed up for (a Demo Day is an opportunity given to entrepreneurs in which they concisely present their initiative to a room full of investors and potential clients, to gain exposure for their business). I had gone through multiple pitch presentations to the organizers of the Demo Day, and was getting excited that I was going to knock it out of the park. Right before my call with Joni, I had a call with one of the Demo Day organizers to discuss my ability to participate, and I found out, that due to the way my company was structured, I would not be eligible. This in fact was my fault, as I knew the requirements, and was hoping an exception would be made. But alas.
For whatever reason, this hit me pretty hard. Probably because I was in the throes of entrepreneurship. I was scared. And I was putting a lot of hope into the few eggs I had in my basket. I got off the call with heavy tears in my eyes. "Shit." I thought. "There's no way I can take this call with Joni now. I'll have to reschedule with her." But the clock was up -- it was a back to back call and the only way to reschedule was to show up and tell her face to face (via video conference).
So, I jumped on Skype, red in the face, puffy eyed, and with very few words.
"Hi Joni," I said, "I just got some really bad news, and I don't think I'm in good shape for our session today."
"OH," she said. "Okay let's get right into it."
And, she began. She said, "Repeat after me.... "
And then, I was introduced to the world of tapping.
Tapping is a form of healing more formally known as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). EFT enables you to dive deep into the root of an emotional thing, heal it, and walk away empowered. Sounds simple. And I have to tell you, it's one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced.
Did you ever stop to think how often emotions stop you from living your best life?
Anytime you feel discomfort, and choose another route. Anytime you think, "I shouldn't, I can't." When you stop yourself from having something you want. That feeling you get inside your body is an emotion working within you. And the cool thing about emotions, is that hidden inside them is LOADS of power. But it's hard to see it that way when you're in an emotional state, because, well, they can be quite overwhelming, can't they. Emotions stop us in our tracks, and keep us in a steady state of reacting and retracting. It's almost impossible to expand into a new experience of life when fear is upon you. It is for me, anyway.
So imagine the magic found in a tool, a technique, a skill set, that lets you move through an emotional bock into unlimited performance. Sounds pretty rad, doesn't it? It is.
How tapping works:
Where do intense emotions come from? Emotional reactions are coping mechanisms that we adopt at a very young age to survive in the world when things don't go as we expect; we experience some sort of shock at an outcome. Examples are mostly found in our childhood, for example, when we were told no for the first time, were rejected by our friends, or had a traumatic incident occur that felt very, very, bad, and was potentially quite scary. When that moment happens, our minds quickly search for a way to avoid this from every happening again. A very smart reaction, if you think about it, because we are training ourselves to avoid pain -- an important survival skill. And because this moment is so shocking -- so potent -- our body really, really, remembers it. Remembers it not just as a visual memory, but a physical neuropathway that gets etched into our biomechanics. From there, this reaction, this new emotional "railway" etched into us, turns into survival a skill that we take with us into similar situations for the rest of our lives. In application, these coping mechanisms are quite simple, human reactions. Things like becoming quiet or shy in the face of a powerful person, or becoming funny to create connections with people and be accepted. Turning away from new things, or jumping boldly into them to prove something to yourself or others. Whatever it is, there is a default way of coping that gets chosen over and over again, without thinking. And most of the time, this coping mechanism is no longer serving us. It's like an outdated software program keeping you stuck.
To rid ourselves of this recurring feeling, we need an update.
We need to get to the root of the original survival skill, the moment of the utmost discomfort that caused us to create it, and heal it. This is what tapping does. And powerfully so.
A few powerful case studies of how tapping has healed deep emotional wounds:
Tapping has proved effective for PTSD. "In a study that included 100 veterans with severe PTSD, 90 percent of the veterans had such a reduction in symptoms that they no longer met the clinical criteria for PTSD after six one-hour EFT sessions! Sixty percent no longer met PTSD criteria after just three EFT sessions."Tapping has helped genocide victims from Rwanda. "Now adults, these orphans experienced incredible healing. A documentary reports 'trauma outbreaks were reduced by an astonishing 90% in just one year.'"High schools in Australia are implementing tapping training it to reduce stress in students, as well as tame junk food cravings, with newsworthy results.
Tapping can be used on any feelings of discomfort that show up in life. And I am now using it, constantly. I'm on a treasure hunt to reclaim my power, remove my fears, and burst into the world with even more energy and confidence than I knew was possible. I am also teaching others how to do so, too. I recently tapped with the Austin Business Journal, Creative Mornings, SXSW in March, and event launched a new company that trains organizations in this powerful mental health technique.
I want to share with you some personal issues I have tapped on:
Fear of making sales calls
Fear of running out of money
Fear of not being smart enough to work on a particular project
Wanting approval from a lover
Anxiety of speaking a new language
Recurring unhealthy eating habits
Lack of love and acceptance for my body
... and there's a growing list of more that I write down as I find them.
The results I've experienced are quite beautiful. Every time I heal an issue, peace washes over me. Things that once used to bother me simply drop out of my mind. I move through past issues without giving them a second thought. My soul is more rested, my choices more grounded, and my actions more confident. The inner "dynamite" feeling of emotion just doesn't exist where it once did. And once a memory is healed, it's healed forever. The trigger is gone. For example, I can pick up the phone and make any sales call with complete confidence. Hell yes, I'll take it!
I do have to share that emotional triggers are like an onion. There are layers and layers of them. When one is healed, I find another one. Sometimes associated to the same thing, like money, but there's a different painful memory supporting present pain that I don't need. Each time I find a new feeling of pain, I think for a minute of it's source, identify the root memory, and choose to heal it. I imagine this process will continue for the rest of my life. And I'm very okay with that. I choose to keep healing, keep growing, keep allowing more peace into my soul and more power into my deliberate actions and outcomes.
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Are you ready to try this transformational practice? If you're even a little bit curious, if you feel something poking inside you that's begging for healing attention, it's time to claim that power back.
You can book a free 20 minute discovery session with me here. I'll talk with you and see where we can create your transformation.