When we look at our leakiest patterns, those pressure points that eventually turn into energy leaks, there’s one thing we all have in common. We have a lot to say about them! In my book - The Tapping Solution For Manifesting Your Greatest Self -   I give examples of this, including a common block at work. If one of your biggest leaky patterns is hating your job, I can almost guarantee that as soon as I mention it, you’ll have a story to tell about why you hate it, how your boss plays into that hatred, how your job makes you feel, what you believe to be true about it, and on and on.

You may also talk about feeling trapped because you need the income, and believe that you can't do anything else. That feeling of being trapped makes you feel resentful, which makes doing the actual job you hate even more painful. And then there’s that client you have to work with, and also that co-worker who always criticizes you when the boss is around . . . Like I said, we all have big stories to tell around our leakiest patterns!

These patterns, or pressure points, often have a long history. Some of them may be tied to childhood, repressed emotions, and limiting beliefs we took on at a young age. While there’s no need to map out every element right now—we’ll do that gradually during this journey—keep in mind that these patterns, and the larger stories they’re connected to, often run deep.

In this exercise, you’ll use Tapping to tell the story around your leakiest pressure point. Look back at your list of energy leaks for the day, and focus on the number one biggest energy leak.

When you think about that pressure point in your life, notice the emotions that come up. Also notice any events or memories that come to mind. Finally, take note of any limiting beliefs that may be associated with this energy drain.

For example, let’s say communicating with your ex about your children is taking 20 percent (or 20 units) of your energy most days. When you think about communicating with your ex, what emotion comes up most intensely? Do you feel angry, afraid, sad, ashamed? Are there specific events around communicating with your ex that stand out? Are there limiting beliefs related to this pattern? For instance, do you believe she or he will always get under your skin, or that you’ll always clash with him or her, and so on? These are all elements of your story around this pattern. Next, you’ll tap while telling this story.

RELEASING THE STORY
Now that you’re aware of this story bubbling inside you, let’s give it what it wants—airtime! You can begin telling your story from the beginning or from your present experience around it. Keep in mind—your story doesn’t need to make sense to anyone but you. Your goal is to tell it as you tap through the points.

For instance, if your story around communicating with your ex begins with the text message he or she sent you this morning, start your story with that text.Tell the story of what the text said, how it makes you feel, what other events it reminds you of, and so on. As you tell it, you may rewind to past events, which is great. Roll with it.

Where Are Your Energy Leaks?
Here are general guidelines for tapping through a story:
• Make a point of adding in as many sensory experiences—sights, sounds, feelings—as you remember.

If you don't know how to tap, here is a video showing what to do:

• Tap on the emotions that this event made you feel at the time (if you remember), as well as the emotion(s) it evokes in you now.
• Don’t worry about how you tell the story; just tap as the event(s) comes back to you, making your story as detailed as you can. There’s no “right” or “wrong” way to tell your story, so don’t worry about story chronology, structure, and so on.
Before you begin tapping, first notice how emotionally charged your story around this leaky pattern feels, and then give it a number of intensity on a scale of 0 to 10.

Take three deep breaths.
Starting with the Karate Chop point, be as honest as you can, telling the complete story of what happened as you begin tapping through the points.
Karate Chop . . . Eyebrow . . . Side of Eye . . . Under Eye . . . Under Nose . . .
Under Mouth . . . Collarbone . . . Under Arm . . . Top of Head . . .
Karate Chop . . . Eyebrow . . . Side of Eye . . . Under Eye . . . Under Nose . . .
Under Mouth . . . Collarbone . . . Under Arm . . . Top of Head . . .
Karate Chop . . . Eyebrow . . . Side of Eye . . . Under Eye . . . Under Nose . . .
Under Mouth . . . Collarbone . . . Under Arm . . . Top of Head . . .
Continue telling your story around this leaky pressure point as you tap:
Karate Chop . . . Eyebrow . . . Side of Eye . . . Under Eye . . . Under Nose . . .
Under Mouth . . . Collarbone . . . Under Arm . . . Top of Head . . .
Karate Chop . . . Eyebrow . . . Side of Eye . . . Under Eye . . . Under Nose . . .
Under Mouth . . . Collarbone . . . Under Arm . . . Top of Head . . .

Karate Chop . . . Eyebrow . . . Side of Eye . . . Under Eye . . . Under Nose . . .
Under Mouth . . . Collarbone . . . Under Arm . . . Top of Head . . .

Continue tapping through the story for as long as you need to in order to lower the emotional charge you feel around it. When you’re ready, retell your story from beginning to end. Has the emotional charge gone down?
Rate the emotional intensity again on a scale of 0 to 10.

Once you can tell and retell the story around this leaky pattern without experiencing the original emotional intensity that story caused, you know you’ve released it. Don’t worry about how long this process takes. You may be able to release some of the stories around your leaky patterns in five minutes, while other stories may take repeated tapping over a period of days or weeks to release fully. The length of time doesn’t matter, as long as you continue tapping until the story is fully released. To learn more, see The Tapping Solution For Manifesting Your Greatest Self - 21 Days to Releasing Self-Doubt, Cultivating Inner Peace, and Creating a Life You Love.