Increasing your effectiveness with EFT, part 86.
A while back, I came across a nugget of wisdom from Gary Craig, the founder of EFT. He said when EFT seems like it’s hitting a wall, it’s persistence that makes the difference. This resonated with me, but I’ve realized that there’s more than one way to be persistent with EFT. Among these methods, there’s one that tends to work best.
I want to share these three approaches using an example.
Say we’re tackling the common fear of public speaking. I’ve previously introduced the “banana bread” analogy, where the whole fear is like a loaf of banana bread. By focusing on specific events linked to this fear, we’re essentially taking a slice of this loaf, making the issue easier to work with. For instance, one such “slice” could be the anxiety of an upcoming presentation at work.
Here are the three persistence strategies:
- Some people tap daily with a general statement like, “Even though I have this fear of public speaking, I deeply and completely accept myself.” This approach is like addressing the entire loaf of banana bread all at once. Is it consistent? Yes. But it might not dive deep enough into specific issues, so you might not notice much progress.
- Then there are those who tap on specific events (our “slices” of banana bread) but switch to a new event every few rounds of tapping. They end up touching upon many related memories, like freezing during a friend’s wedding toast or a childhood classroom embarrassment, but without delving deep into any single one. At the end of the day, all the events they tapped on have almost the same emotional intensity as they did before, and the issue remains more or less the same.
- The third method is to stick with one event, such as an upcoming work presentation, and tap on it repeatedly, but on a different aspect each time. As you do this, you’ll probably uncover various emotions and thoughts related to that event. You might even notice some related memories coming up. The key here is to continually bring your focus back to that one event and ask: “What’s the most noticeable emotion or thought I have now about this event?”
In my experience, this third approach is the one that tends to work best. It allows for shifts in focus (new ‘aspects’ coming up, like different layers of the onion) but remains concentrated on one specific event. This helps avoid the overwhelm of trying to tackle many events or memories in one go.
Thanks to the Generalization Effect, the more we delve into one event, the more likely it is that we’ll see improvement in other related events, ultimately noticing progress on the broader issue.
So, if you ever find yourself stuck and not seeing immediate results, keep at it. There might be many layers of emotions wrapped up in a single event. Stick with it, and see if that makes any difference in the effectiveness of your tapping.
If this seems too difficult to do on your own, consider enlisting the help of a certified practitioner like myself, or anyone else whose style you resonate with. A trained professional can guide you through the process and tailor the techniques to fit your unique needs.
And that’s it for today! I’m Bruno Sade, a compassionate, open-minded clinical psychologist, and certified EFT practitioner. My approach is tailored to your individual needs and preferences, always respecting your experiences, beliefs, and background.
What are your thoughts on today’s topic? Feel free to share questions, comments, or suggestions for future topics. You can either leave a comment below or send a private message. Remember to follow my profile to stay updated on my latest posts.
