Reasons New Year's Resolutions Often Fail

[Lucie Monroe]

Dear EFT friends,

HappyNew Year! I'm sending you good wishes to accompany you on yourjourney. May 2011 be all that you wish it to be...

 

Onthat occasion, I'd like to send you a few words on the thorny topicof new year’s resolutions.

Farbe it from me to prevent you from making any – it's always good toaim higher and challenge yourself to reach new goals – but it's sadto notice how much disappointment, failed hopes and crushedself-esteem they can leave in their wake...

 

Letme give you some pieces of information on how the human mind dealswith change.

Changeis implemented over a period of time through the use of repetition.This is in order to hammer things that require conscious attention at first into our subconscious mind so they can eventually beexecuted without any conscious effort. This is how we learnhow to write with a pen without always thinking about the shape ofthe letters we're tracing. This is how we learn to brush our teeth atbedtime no matter how tired we are.

 

Andthis is also how we shape what we perceive as being our identity:

Aftera few failures in math class, Victor is going to see himself as aperson who cannot bring good math grades to his parents. It now ispart of his identity, and his subconscious is going to filter theinformation surrounding Victor so that he only perceives whatreinforces that perception. Finally it becomes a self-fulfillingprophecy and he finds himself entirely unable to improve in mathclass, no matter how hard he tries.

 

Ifyour new resolutions are gritting against such an ingrainedunconscious belief about yourself, there's going to be a conflictbetween your subconscious and conscious mind. This often results in ashort struggle against yourself, a display of courage and will, followed by a period of involuntary self-sabotage before finallygiving up with either bitterness or festering disappointment.

 

Sometimes,the changes are more lasting, and the new behavior is implementedthrough much painful repetition. Sophia, for example, is able tostick to a gym routine for a rather long time. That is until shetakes a vacation, stops exercising for two weeks, and finds herselfcompletely unable to resume her routine when she comes back home. OrErich starts that sculpture class he's always dreamed of, takes theleap to become a professional artist, but never fulfills his creativepotential (or never gets enough clientele to make a decent livingwith his passion).

 

Whathappened?

 

Well,humans, like other mammals, are driven by two types of mechanisms:those ensuring the survival of the species, and those providing themwith a pleasurable sensation. It sounds overly hedonistic but it'strue: the only people sticking to good eating habits do it because itfeels good, whether it's a delicious taste, the satisfaction oftreating themselves right, or the exhilaration of seeing their newhealthy body. If there is displeasure, it is much harder tostick with anything: “It's too difficult, I'll never make it” or,“I don't know where to start, I feel lost,” or, “It's in thegenes anyway; I can't do anything about my weight.”

 

Asif on purpose, those thoughts are not just a manifestation ofdispleasure, they're also the proof of an internal conflict betweenunconscious and conscious mind... As soon as you havereservations about anything you want to change in your life, assoon as you feel less than enthused about a new prospect you'recontemplating, this is the sign your conscious mind is not inalignment with one or several beliefs you unwillingly hold aboutyourself.

 

Andsince our subconscious mind always wins – because our survivaldepends on it – this doesn't bode well for the future ofresolutions.

 

Fortunately,there is a way (there are even several) to reprogram your brain andchange the self-limiting beliefs that stand in the way of your goals.Any technique that bypasses the barrier of the conscious mind anddirectly starts a dialogue with the subconscious can give you theability to finally make those resolutions happen without feeling likeyou're pulling your own teeth. Hypnosis, EMDR, TAT, Psy-K are only ahandful of names in the wider field of energy psychology that servesjust that purpose. But my favorite method – as you probably know –is EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques).

I love it for its

 

1.Efficacy: therapistsreport close to 98% of success with their clients, which is anunbelievably high number compared to conventional therapy.

2.Simplicity:it’s soeasy to learn, anyone canuse it.

3.Versatility:one recipe works for everykind of problem, whether emotional or physical.

4.Universality:whether you believe in EFT or not doesn't influence the outcome; itcan work on anyone.

  5. Affordability: not only can you use it on yourself, but if you choose to work with a therapist, you typically   need a lot fewer sessions than other therapies, thus saving a ton of money.

Mostof all, I love the feeling of being empowered with my own health andwell-being, and the knowledge that I can improve my life beyond mywildest aspirations!

 

Joinme for a three-workshop series taking place on Saturday 15, 22 and 29of January, from 3 to 5. Mixing quite a bit of instructions with alot of hands-on tapping, these workshops are ideal to get you started (or put you back on tracks) with an energy tool designed to change your relationship with yourself in general, and with new year’sresolutions in particular.

 

● Workshop1 willaddresses the basics of the technique, and in particularly thetapping recipe on which everything else is constructed.

● Workshop 2 will focus on how to craft incredibly potent EFT sentences to achievemore autonomy in your practice.

● Workshop3 tells you what to do when EFT is not working, and is dedicated to trouble-shooting your practice.