Wipe Out Negative Thoughts & Limiting Beliefs | Jim Kwik & Nick Ortner

Welcome back, Kwik Brain, and here's your question for today. How do you reduce negative self-talk? You know, Dr. Daniel Amen calls them ANTs, automatic negative thoughts, because we know that your brain is like a supercomputer and your self-talk is a program it will run. So if you tell yourself, I'm too old, or I'm not good at remembering names, it becomes a self-program that your computer is going to run. And so that's something that could really be an obstacle for you accessing the total potential of your Kwik Brain. And so to help you through that, we're bringing back New York Times bestselling author, Nick Ortner. Thanks for joining us again, Nick.

Hey, Jim, so happy to be here, and I'm excited to like just dive in and get really practical on how we start stopping these ants.

I love this. And so we're talking about The Tapping Solution, right? Your company and the name of the documentary that I was at the premiere for almost 10 years ago, which is absolutely extraordinary. I really do believe EFT or tapping is one of the most incredible superhero tools for people's minds and for their life. And so your brain doesn't come with an owner's manual, and this is an incredible way to be able to hack it, to be able to get greater levels of productivity, performance, and positivity, right? A peace of mind where you can achieve but have a level of clarity and ease with it also as well.

Yeah, 100%. You know, when I first discovered the tapping over a decade ago— and if you're wondering if we're tap dancing, we call it tapping because we are Literally tapping on these, physically tapping on these endpoints of meridians of our body. And while, and while we do that, we send a calming signal to—

excuse me.

Yeah. Should we cut it or no?

Just let's go. Let's keep it going. And I also recommend people listen to the last episode. So if they haven't listened to the last episode, you do that first because we did a whole explanation of it.

Wonderful. Yeah, we're trying to rush this because we're all on tight deadlines and trying to get to the tapping right away. So when we tap on these endpoints of meridians, We send a calming signal to the amygdala in the brain. When I first discovered it, the question— like, I knew I wanted to think something different in my brain, right? I knew I wanted to overcome this negative self-talk. I didn't know how. And I know that's something that a lot of people are struggling with on a daily basis. Okay, I want to be positive. How? Because I'm positive for 1 minute and then I'm negative for an hour. I think a positive thought and then my brain instantly comes in and says, no, that's BS.

Exactly. And then you have these negative self-thoughts Talk like— that's like that song that you can't get out of your head, that's repetitive, that's going on and on, and it holds you back, right? And so in our previous episode, we talked about how to eliminate anxiety and stress and performance challenges because you have to give a talk or take a test, how to get rid of that negative state, because all learning is state-dependent. And this one, it's about like something maybe even deeper. It's like your beliefs. I think it is almost about who you are. About things. So if somebody has, let's say they have these ants that are running rampant in their head that they're too old, they're not smart enough, they're not a, they're not a good reader, they're not enough, whatever it happens to be. Let's, uh, let's walk people through the quick process. Let's do it.

So let's go ahead and close our eyes and just take a deep breath. And I want you, you know, Jim just gave a couple of examples. I'm too old. I'm this, I'm that. Um, I want you to just fill in that blank. So say I am, and then fill in the blank on that negative thinking. And you know, we're allowing ourselves to think negative for a moment to acknowledge this is how we feel. This is what we think. We're not going to lock it in. This isn't going to be you forever. We're just saying, okay, yeah, this is, I am too old for this. I am, I failed too many times. So I'm a failure. I am a procrastinator. That's a big one, right? People are like, oh, I'm a procrastinator. That is their identity. You know, um, I am this, I am that. And just a lot may be coming up. Just pick one. I'm going to focus on one for now. So if you say I am a procrastinator, say that out loud and just rate on a scale of 0 to 10 how true it feels. So 10 would be, yeah, that's absolutely true. That is the truth, right? I am a procrastinator. That is the truth. Just acknowledge that I am lazy. I'm not smart enough. Pick that one, give it a number on a scale of 0 to 10. And then if you say it too, we tend to think this is all in our minds, but it comes with more than that. So when you say I'm a procrastinator, what do you feel in your body? And when you say that I am lazy, I am this, I am that, do you feel any emotions? You might say, I'm not smart enough. And you usually just run it through your mind, but now you notice that, you know, there's some sadness there when you say that. Or I'm a procrastinator and there's some fear. What if I never change this? So pick an emotion that you feel in your body— anger, anxiety, fear, overwhelm, sadness, grief, just whatever comes up. I know I'm asking you to do a lot of things. You have this belief, you have this emotion around it, you're feeling it in your body, you are being present to it. And gently open your eyes and we'll do the tapping. I'll explain it. If you're listening in the car, pull over, you need 2 hands and just join with us. Don't worry about getting it perfect or right. If you don't get a point exactly, it's still going to work great for you. So Let's start by tapping on the side of the hand and repeat after me. So the side of the hand is below the pinky on the outside of the hand, using four fingers of one hand to tap on the other. Whatever hand feels comfortable, and just say, even though I have this belief about myself, even though I have this belief about myself, I choose to relax now.

I choose to relax now.

Even though I believe this about myself.

Even though I believe this about myself.

And just say that belief out loud. So say, I am a procrastinator, or I am lazy, whatever it is, just say it out loud. I choose to relax now.

I choose to relax now.

And then one more time, still tapping on the side of the hand continuously. Even though, and just say that belief out loud. And then say, I love and accept myself.

I love and accept myself.

Now we're going to tap through the points thinking about that belief. That first point is on the eyebrow point, inside of the eyebrow, right where the hair ends and it meets the nose. You can take 2 fingers of one hand or the other hand or both hands, whatever feels comfortable, and just tap continuously. And just say that belief out loud again. I am a procrastinator. I am lazy. I am this. Just say it out loud. Now to the side of the eye. It's not at the temple. It's right next to the eye on the bone. Again, one side or both sides. And just say that belief out loud again. And now under the eye, right on the bone. Say that belief. Feel how it feels in your body to say that. Be present to that belief. Under the nose. Be present to that thought. Be present to the emotion that goes with it. So when you say I'm a procrastinator or I'm too old, what do you feel? I feel like I'm not good enough. Notice how when you say that and you think that, your energy shrinks down. It comes with anxiety or fear or sadness. Under the mouth, above the chin, below the lip, in that little crease there, just using 2 fingers, tapping continuously. Say that belief out loud again. I am— For the collarbone point, feel for the 2 little bones of the collarbone. Down an inch, out to each side about an inch. You can tap with all 10 fingers of both hands. Say that belief out loud again, and maybe at this point it's starting to sound a little silly, or you just don't care. What often happens with tapping, we release these negative emotions, we send a calming signal to the amygdala of the brain, we lower the cortisol in the body. The research has shown that we are literally lowering cortisol as we speak, as we tap right now. And you start saying to yourself, this is a dumb belief. I don't really think this. Underneath the arm. You start thinking, I'm not really a procrastinator because your mind is relaxing. That amygdala is calming. And you're actually starting to think of all the times that you didn't procrastinate, all the things that you got done. Top of the head. You think you're too old. And then all of a sudden you go, well, that's a silly thought because you start thinking of All the people who got so many things done who are even older than you were. Back to the eyebrow. You think I'm not smart enough? And then that starts changing as examples come flying forward of all the times that you've been absolutely brilliant. Side of the eye. When we calm these negative beliefs, when we stop these ants The positive ones just come up naturally and allow those to come up now. Under the eye, be present to those positive thoughts. Stack them one on top of the other. Feel them in your body. Feel that energy and that strength and that confidence coursing through your body as the negative thinking vanishes. Under the nose, in its place is strength and confidence. In its place are those natural feelings that just come forward, the truth of who you really are. Under the mouth. Allow those to be right now. Make them stronger, make them bigger, make them brighter. Try to think about that negative belief again and notice that it's just hard to grasp it. Like, you just don't even care. What are you doing wasting your time with these old thoughts? When you know something else is true. Feel the strength and power in that now. Collarbone. And feel that when you stop this negative thinking, when you calm your mind, when you calm your body, just notice all the resources that awaken inside of you. You are literally smarter now than you were 5 minutes ago. You're more confident, you're more at peace. You're happier. And notice the strength from this place. What if you could be in this place all the time? What if you could operate from this confidence, this belief? Under the arm. Let that sink into every cell in your body right now. Top of the head. That strength, that confidence, that new reality. Feel it now. And when you're ready, you can gently stop tapping and take a deep breath. Now just tune back into that belief, right? So you said, I'm a procrastinator, or I'm too old, or I'm lazy. Or I'm this, or I'm not smart enough, or I'm that. Try to think that thought again and see how it feels. How strong is it on a scale of 0 to 10? Now maybe it was an 8 and now it's a 5. That's huge. We tapped for minutes on a belief that is at the core of what's operating with you. And now it's a 5, right? Or a 4 or 3 or 2 or gone.

It's amazing. I mean, it's— and I know a lot of people, they always try to go for perfect, but I think progress, right? Like, think about the things like what people's options are when they want to change a limiting belief or some negative self-talk that's hijacking their brain. You know, they just have to use willpower or something like that. But this is such an elegant way to be able to reduce something, and it's using your nervous system. Absolutely.

I mean, I think we're resetting our nervous system. I feel it every time I tap.

It's just like No, I literally feel lighter every single time that we do this together. And so this is for people, what I would recommend right now, Kwik Brains, as you're listening to this. Number one, you can re-listen to these past couple episodes with Nick. So this has been a real privilege, so thank you for that. So you could actually walk people through this because maybe if it didn't get it on the first shot, it's worth taking another, you know, cycle through, you know, because it's what, 5, 6 minutes?

Exactly. I mean, we kept these short and so yeah.

Yeah, very bite-sized and digestible. And then the second thing I would recommend for everybody Nick, congratulations on the new book.

Thank you, thank you.

Tapping Solution: Manifesting Your Greatest Self. Who doesn't want that, right? And so I love this because this is kind of like— this is so simple too. Like, I look at books because I'm kind of a stickler for this when it comes to reading. I mean, even the way it's like laid out, it's so friendly to your eyes to be able to do that. And 21 days, I mean, to be able to change— like, I mean, think about what's holding us back. in any area, whether it's a behavior, maybe it's like a bad habit that we have, or a negative thought or some negative emotions, or you need to maybe let go of the past. I mean, all the topics that you talk about in this book are absolutely critical. I mean, it's a must-read. I wish they would have taught this back in, back in school, because who doesn't have some kind of trauma or limitation that they're struggling with? You know, and all behavior is belief-driven. That's why I love this session so much because you can only, You do get some kind of reward if you do a behavior, but you can only do that behavior if you have a belief that enables you to do it.

Yeah.

If you picked up these beliefs when you were like 4 or 5 years old and they've been there ever since, you know, and you can't logically will yourself to just have them disappear. But this is a real way.

And you know, look, it's scheduled as a 21-day process. You can do it in whatever timeframe. And you know, early readers of the book are already telling me on day 1, because like with the tapping, you don't have to wait 21 days, like day 1, Oh my gosh, I just had the hugest breakthrough. Like, I feel better, my body feels different. And there's all these incredible side effects, right? We're working on beliefs and all this stuff, but health benefits, like I mentioned, cortisol dropping in the body, DHEA going up. Like, you are— we are healthier now than we were 10 minutes ago because we're doing this process to our body. We're allowing that cortisol to go down and our faculties to come back online. You know, I called it. The Tapping Solution for Manifesting Your Greatest Self, not your perfect self, right? Your greatest self. Because I think that's what we're shooting for. Like, how do we bring out the most out of the innate resources that we have? It's what you do, Jim, so brilliantly. Like, you help us turn our brains on and realize that we're using so little of our capabilities and how much more is available to us. And this is a tool that just works perfectly with all of that.

Yeah. So we want everybody to be able to manifest their greatest self. So make sure you pick up this book on Amazon, Barnes& Noble. Um, and, If you take— share this episode and share the book, take pictures of it, tag us both in it. Let me— let us on social media and let us know what you think. Yeah.

And you know, uh, tag me and tag Jim. Let us know about this episode. If this was helpful, we did quick ones. You know, I'm happy to come on and do some more specific things. Jim and I are dear friends from a long time ago. So like, let me know your specific results so we can see if this is something you want more of.

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Nick, for joining us. And thank you all the Kwik Brains for listening. As always, You're faster and you are smarter than you think.