These invisible inner barriers point to limiting beliefs that give rise to stress, tension and negative thinking. These can interfere with progress toward desired success.

Beliefs can limit us because they function as parameters of experience. We will not experience things "prohibited" by our beliefs, even if these were formed long ago. If I have absorbed negative beliefs about success during my life, my own success will be limited by the content of those beliefs. Such beliefs can be surprisingly well-hidden from us.

Beliefs can easily trump facts. If I am bitten by a dog and form the belief that dogs are dangerous, from that point forward I may be fearful whenever a dog is present even if that dog is friendly, I've been told that by someone I trust, and I can see it behaving in a friendly manner with others.

Many beliefs are not formed purposefully, nor with awareness of what their long-term impact may be. Sometimes limiting beliefs spring from interpretations and conclusions following negative personal experience. Sometimes they come from messages we inadvertently take in from other people or society. Either way they can cause us trouble.

But beliefs can also propel us toward greater success. If we can put into place beliefs that act as springboards, providing parameters that expand in the direction of positive changes we desire, they can help us achieve things that might otherwise seem unattainable.

There are challenges, though, to "installing" more positive beliefs. Beliefs feel true, and we experience them as true, at least for us. And they don't feel like something we can just decide to change - they are anchored by greater intensity than everyday thoughts.

The intensity may come from strong emotional connection to a personal or second-hand experience. It may come from sheer repetition of a suggestion which closes our mind to other possibilities. It may come from alignment with what most of the people we identify with believe. Regardless of its source, the intensity anchoring an established belief usually feels more powerful than our thoughts about changing it.

Changing a belief can feel like trying to convince ourselves of something that is untrue. This causes internal resistance. Traditional advice in the face of this conflict is to press on, repeating an affirmation or holding the image of the "desired truth" until it hopefully takes hold.

Trying to force change with will power and positive affirmations can play out as a frustrating struggle that too often fails, leaving in its wake a new belief that change, at least regarding that issue, is difficult or perhaps impossible for us.

It can help dissolve what EFT founder Gary Craig calls the "tail-enders" - those "yes, buts" that pop up internally when we focus on affirmations or desired goals:

"I'm going to wow them in my job interview... yes, but what if I'm not what they're looking for or I say something really dumb..."

"I am going to join the fitness club and stick with it... yes, but I've said that a hundred times before and I always drop out..."

"If so-and-so can do it, I surely can... yes, but they have advantages I don't have and never will..."

There is an infinite list of these inner objections, tailored by each of us according to our personal experience and set of beliefs. They can be subtle, nothing more than a hint of "it would be great but it's not going to happen for me..." which we try to silence with even stronger applications of will power and affirmations, until we wear ourselves out and quit in frustrated discouragement.

Using EFT to unplug these tail-enders clears the way for shifts in our outlook and energy. The sense of struggle and the need for will power dissolve because there is nothing standing in the way, now, of letting our affirmations feel energizing to us (instead of feeling uncomfortable or like they are harassing us.)

With tail-enders out of the way we can put in their place, often with surprising ease, beliefs and images that expand outward towards greater success.

Frequently asked questions about EFT.

Recommended reading on the science behind the benefits of EFT.

Learn more about EFT and its origins.

EFT for Relieving Stress: In addition to helping strengthen and expand success, EFT can be effectively used for relieving and releasing stress and distress related to a wide range of situations. Learn more.

Private EFT Sessions are available by appointment. Learn more.

EFT Circles are a low-cost gentle, group experience. Learn more.