Are you feeling lost?
All of us experience times in our lives when we’re uncertain about what the future holds and we don’t know what to do. It’s agonizing and terrifying. Maybe the company you work for has just started rounds of layoffs, or your relationship might be on the rocks. Whatever it is, you just can’t seem to find the answer you’re hoping for.
Sometimes it feels like any answer would be preferable to the pain of not knowing.
Maybe the whole world feels like it’s against you when you don’t know what to do. Or perhaps it feels so paralyzing that it seems like there’s nothing you can do to end it. How could tapping possibly help you overcome fear and get on with your life?
Why Your Fear Might Be More Dangerous Than You Realize
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s most famous quote is “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It’s so famous that many of us take it for granted, but it’s one of the most profound truths I’ve come to know. There’s another quote that explains just why that is.
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.”
Paulo Coelho
Fear can be a crippling emotion, and in many cases, the stress caused by fear can have a more negative impact on us than whatever it is we’re scared of. Chronic fear is absolutely devastating. Just a few of the symptoms are:
- Severe insomnia
- Lack of focus
- Loss of appetite
- Intense depression
- Inability to carry out daily functions
Beyond dealing with these terrible symptoms, chronic fear can also can cause you to fixate on the worst-case scenario. The problem with this is that by obsessing over it, we might actually bring what we fear the most into being!
EFT provides us with a reliable way to address these emotions. When you don’t know what to do, tapping can help you overcome fear by replacing that crippling emotion with a sense of calm that lets you ably tackle anything that you have to take care of. If there’s nothing for you to do, once you overcome fear, you’ll be able to have some peace until whatever awful situation you were afraid of resolves itself.
An EFT Routine to Overcome Fear and Uncertainty
Here’s a basic routine that can help you begin to address your fear. If you’re not familiar with tapping, check out this How to Tap video for the basic steps. Once you’ve done that, start by identifying what you’re afraid of and rating how much it’s bothering you on a scale from one to ten. Then begin tapping on your karate chop point, saying:
- “Even though I am so afraid of [name your fear], I deeply and completely love myself.”
- “Even though I am absolutely terrified that [name what you’re scared might happen], I deeply and completely love myself.”
- “Even though I don’t know what to do, I deeply and completely love myself.”
Next, move through the tapping points:
Eyebrow: I am so scared.
Side of Eye: I can’t deal with this.
Under Eye: I just don’t know what to do.
Under Nose: How will I deal with [name what you’re scared of].
Chin Point: It feels like the end of the world.
Collar Bone: Why is this happening to me?
Under Arm: This is the worst thing to ever happen to me.
Top of Head: I just can’t handle not knowing what’s going to happen.
Eyebrow: This is terrifying.
Side of Eye: I just don’t know what to do.
Under Eye: This is too much for me to deal with.
Under Nose: There’s no way out.
Chin Point: I feel useless.
Collar Bone: What’s the point?
Under Arm: I’ve never had it this bad.
Top of Head: This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me.
Take a note of how you’re feeling. Has your fear lessened any? Don’t hesitate to do as many cycles of this routine as you need to for your fear to subside. Once it has, return to your eyebrow and being tapping on what you would like to feel instead, starting with the eyebrow point:
Eyebrow: I want to be free of this fear.
Side of Eye: This fear is getting in my way.
Under Eye: No matter what happens, I’m going to be all right.
Under Nose: No I’m not; this is the worst thing ever.
Chin Point: It may take a little time, but I can get past this.
Collar Bone: I am stronger than this fear.
Under Arm: Everything is going to be OK.
Top of Head: I can stop envisioning the worst thing that can happen.
Eyebrow: It’s OK to not know what’s going to happen next.
Side of Eye: I’m going to be just fine no matter what happens next.
Under Eye: I am strong enough to deal with whatever happens.
Under Nose: It might even be an unexpected surprise…a good one!
Chin Point: No way, this is just too much for me.
Collar Bone: No it’s not, I can handle whatever comes my way.
Under Arm: I don’t know what to do, but that’s OK.
Top of Head: I am strong enough to do whatever I have to when the time is right.
Though you might not necessarily overcome fear in one session, that’s OK. The important thing is to find a way to manage it so that it doesn’t get in your way. As time allows, keep going back to tapping on the fear and getting really specific on the emotions, events, and beliefs that contribute to it. Even if you don’t know what to do, tapping can help you find the strength to take the appropriate action when needed and deal with any obstacles you come across. You are stronger than your worst fear!
Nick Ortner is the CEO of The Tapping Solution and Creator and Executive Producer of the breakthrough documentary, The Tapping Solution, which explores EFT or “tapping,” a healing tool based on ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology.
