I Love You Because…

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I have a confession. When I started my online weight loss coaching business, I gained 15 pounds the first year! I was sooo hard on myself about it. I felt like such a hypocrite. I kept thinking, how can I be worthy of helping women lose weight when I can't even help myself? How can I claim to be a weight loss coach when I can’t solve my own problems? But during that first year of my coaching practice, one fact remained: I was helping people. Women were losing weight and changing their lives. I decided the extra weight must be serving a purpose, and I opened myself up to receiving the lesson. My answer came in the form of a question—a strange question, I might add. A tiny little voice asked, “What is the definition of insanity?” Britt’s answer: Umm, keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result? I realized that beating myself up about gaining weight was not getting me anywhere. I had already spent half my life verbally abusing myself about what I ate, what I didn't eat, the extra 10 pounds, and everything in between. At this point, I was weary from the verbal attacks. I sat back and realized that I had a choice. I could continue to let Miss Negative Nancy tongue-lash me, or I could try a new approach. I asked myself this question: What would be like to surrender into self-acceptance? I realized that I had not yet learned to TRULY "love and accept myself." We are taught to say these words with each round of tapping, but to me, they were just words, words of a mantra that I said so much, they didn't even have meaning. This is what my lesson was about. If I was going to teach women how to look and feel amazing about themselves, I needed to learn how to say those words and TRULY mean them. I know what you're thinking: Yes, Brittany, I know I should accept myself, but that's easier said than done. I figured out how to make it easy. The way to make it easy is with this phrase: “I love you because...” Starting your tapping sequence with “I love you because…” gives your unconscious mind the message that you love yourself BECAUSE you have problems, not DESPITE the fact that you have problems—BECAUSE you have problems, because, like everyone else, you are human, and humans are imperfect creatures. Once I incorporated "I love you because" into my daily tapping routine, the barriers collapsed, the extra pounds fell off, and Miss Negative Nancy turned into my best friend, a positive coach, a mentor of sorts, cheering me on throughout the day. Wanna know how to do it? This is a technique I usually only teach my private clients but it is my souls mission my to help women transform their relationships with themselves and their bodies, SO, I want to share it with you! Here's what you do: make a list of all the negative thoughts that are flying around in your head right now. Go on. Do it! Then, in front of every sentence, put this phrase: "I love you because…" Take 5 minutes right now and look into the mirror, into your own eyes (the mirror is key) and tap while you repeat your new mantra. Example: Karate Chop: Brittany, I love you because you're a weight loss coach and you gained 15 pounds. Karate Chop: Brittany, I love you because you're a weight loss coach and you gained 15 pounds. Karate Chop: Brittany, I love you because you're a weight loss coach and you gained 15 pounds. EB: I love you because you ate those things and you said you wouldn't. SE: I love you because you're neurotic about your body. UE: I love you because you're always beating yourself up. UN: I love you because your legs are chunky. CB: I love you because you have cellulite. UA: I love you because you're always trying to be better. TH: And most of all, I love you because you don't accept yourself. Deep breath EB: I love you, I am here for you. SE: You are loved by me; I'll take care of you no matter what. UE: No matter what you look like. UN: Or how much you weigh. CH: I’ll always be here for you. CB: When times get bad, I'll be right here. UA: You are an amazing woman. TH: You are working hard. EB: And even if you don’t make one single change, SE: I still love you. Fully and completely. UE: You are perfect right now, today, and I love you. UN: You are loved by me. Once I started incorporating this into my daily routine, my entire presence changed. I began walking around radiating self-love. Men opened doors for me, customer service reps actually helped me, my technology worked seamlessly, women I didn't even know complimented me on my hair. Most of all, I felt great. Great about myself, my body, and my life. Try it for a week and notice what happens for you. :-) PS. Just so you know, I'm still not perfectly sane about my weight. I still get body envy from time to time when I see a super-skinny girl walking down the street who seems to be effortlessly thin. But now I stop and remind myself of what I have, who I am, and why I love myself. And then skinny doesn't seem to matter anymore. Leave me a comment in the box below and tell me about your experience with this tapping exercise. xo Britt