Fränzi Ng – Transformation Specialist, Centre for Extraordinary Living

Do you remember the days when thinking about the Holidays filled your heart with excitement, your eyes with brilliance, your mind with expectation, and your tummy with dancing butterflies?

You may be wondering: what happened?!

If the same thought now fills you with more anxiety than joy, you are probably not alone. Crowded malls, company dinners, short daylight hours and the swine flu dread don’t help to lift the mood and cause that feeling of anxiety.

If you wish to experience peace of mind and balance even in the weeks to come, you will find the following three simple tips, from the amazing world of Thought Field Therapy, most useful:

* Watch what you eat. My primary concern here is not that you might gain weight if indulging in too many treats. Instead, I caution you to be aware of the Food-Mood Connection. When delicacies of every sort are amply available it is only too easy to overindulge in food stuff that may not agree with you. This can manifest physically in discomfort, even pain, as well as breathing and sleeping difficulties. Emotionally, too much of a good thing can show up in irritability, anxiety and depression. The Food-Mood connection is very real. It is not uncommon for clients to tell me that they feel sad and down after too much chocolate, or hypersensitive and angry after eating yet another cookie. Therefore, limit your food indulgences. Notice what you eat. Your waist line and your balanced, content mood will be your reward.

* Nip stress in the bud: Don’t let stress build up. Don’t wait until you reach the breaking point before you do something. It is so easy to eliminate all stress and anxiety with TFT. Just follow my TFT workout video, “The TFT Power Ritual,” below. Use it under the following circumstances.

* Tap in the morning. Think about the day/s and week/s ahead and tune into all your responsibilities, expectations and past experiences (e.g. traumas). Rate your level of upset on a scale from 0 to 10 (0 = no stress, 10 = extreme stress) and tap along with me on the video.

* Tap before going to bed. Think about the day you had, everything that was said, everything that happened and rate your level of upset, tension or anxiety. Now tap by following the video.

* Tap before you eat. Never, never eat from a place of anxiety. If nothing else, commit to yourself for the next few weeks that you will only eat when you are stress and anxiety FREE. Become aware of the tension in your body or the conversations in your head. Rate their intensity, then tap with the video.  By doing so, you will be able to eat from a place of peace so you can actually notice what you are eating. People tell me that the food tastes better and that they need less of it to feel satisfied. Remember it’s not what you are eating – it’s what’s eating you. Get that out of the way and your meal becomes again a nourishing feast for body, mind and spirit.

* Food or Addiction? If you use Holiday treats as fuel to keep you going (similar to caffeine), you are probably under a lot of stress. There may even be an underlying addiction to these foods, an addiction you may not be aware of – not until you stop eating the treat. If you experience strong cravings, if you feel you just can’t do without a certain food, rate the intensity and use “The TFT Power Ritual” to eliminate the craving.

Implementing these ideas takes a bit of discipline. I know. And it is this discipline that will set you free. The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the world. Unfortunately, the word “praos” (meek) was translated incorrectly. A much better translation is “disciplined.” It is the disciplined that shall inherit the world, those who just do it.

These simple steps, when followed consistently, allow you to move from survival mode to thrive mode, despite whatever might be happening around you.

photo credit: bionicteaching