What is your energy when you look at your inbox?

Is it enthusiasm and curiosity? Or… Overwhelm? Defeated confusion?

What stops you from cleaning it up and keeping it manageable?

– There is too much to do!
– I don’t know where to start!
– What if I get rid of something I need?

One of the first things you can do to lighten the load is to get rid of the messages (or file them seperately) that are there because you “should” get back to them. We know that a bunch of these messages in our inboxes can make us DREAD checking our mail.

Think of one of those messages now (or pull it up and look at it). Is it, “I really should email Aunt Ruthie back about that recipe she sent, but I haven’t tried it yet and I don’t know when I’ll have time.” Or “I really should read that 3 page email about that new technique to see if it’s worthwhile.” Or “I just don’t know if that opportunity is right for me or not, so I should just leave it in my inbox until it expires…”

Sounds like a lot of SHOULDing on yourself!

What do you feel in your body when you think of one particular email? What is the conflict?

– I don’t want to hurt Aunt Ruthie’s feelings, but I don’t even LIKE coconut.
– I want to learn the best techniques, but it’s hard to find the time and focus to learn them all.
– I don’t want to miss out on a good opportunity, but I’m stretched pretty thin right now.

Let’s do some tapping on these feelings. It can help to write down what you feel in your body (for example, dread and confusion in my stomach… it feels twisty and hot… jittery and anxious… pain in my neck) and how intense from 0 to 10 (for example, my stomach feels pretty intense when I look at this email, probably a 8). That way you can track how it shifts after each round of Energy Tapping (EFT).

Karate Chop: Even though I have this conflict about this email, I am open to making a decision and feeling good about moving forward.

Even though there is a lot of “should” in this email, I am willing to have clarity on what is right for me and what to do with it.

Even though my stomach is all knotted up around this email, I would like to bring it peace. What am I afraid of losing if I let this go?

Top of the Head: I hate this feeling!
Eyebrow: I don’t have the time or energy to do what I should.
Side of the Eye: Or at least what I think I should do…
Under the Eye: Don’t I need to be perfect?
Under the Nose: I might get this wrong.
Chin: What will happen if I don’t do it right?
Collarbone: Will I lose this connection?
Under the Arm: Will I hurt someone I care about?

Top of the Head: I do want to feel better.
Eyebrow: I don’t like this dread everytime I open my inbox.
Side of the Eye: I haven’t followed through… the way I should.
Under the Eye: What if I could do something different?
Under the Nose: And still be ok?
Chin: What if I could take a new approach…
Collarbone: And clear out some of the “should” in my inbox.
Under the Arm: That would feel good!

Top of the Head: I am ready to feel better about this.
Eyebrow: And find new and surprisingly easy solutions.
Side of the Eye: There are opportunities all around me.
Under the Eye: And if the technique is right for me,
Under the Nose: I’ll learn it at the perfect time for me.
Chin: And I could always send “Aunt Ruth” a quick note,
Collarbone: thanking her for the email and sending her my love.
Under the Arm: I’m going to stop shoulding all over my inbox.
Top of the Head: I feel better already!

Take a deep breath and notice how you feel when you look at this same email message. Did you get clarity? Or did you identify a specific block that keeps you from taking simple action? You can always do more tapping to clear whatever blocks remain.

Author Bio: Cathy Vartuli and Rick Wilkes are Emotional Freedom Coaches. For free newsletters covering topics of abundance and wellbeing check out their websites: http://www.joy-connection.com and http://www.thrivingnow.com

Category: Self Help
Keywords: EFT, Energy Tapping, Clutter, Freedom, Abundance, Trauma, Law of Attraction