When we look at our lives—at what happens to us and what we experience—from a psychological point of view, we are naturally curious about everything we’ve lived through.
We tend to search for the causes of our current problems in our past—how we grew up and what we went through.
In general, that’s not a bad approach. The trouble often begins elsewhere: the problem arises when we try to dig down to the absolute origin of our issues, analyze them, and “understand” them intellectually. Understanding has value, of course—but just because we grasp something logically doesn’t mean the problem magically resolves. This is where traditional approaches can struggle, because for a long time there simply weren’t practical tools to process what was uncovered. And so it happens that after a session, someone may feel even worse than when they arrived.
Another twist: deep analysis can even lead to artificially created memories—experiences that aren’t truly ours.
If you visit a regression therapist, you might go searching for the origin of your current problems in past lives. You’ll be guided into hypnosis to find the “first cause.” This can be fascinating, but it also carries certain risks. People may uncover things that may or may not be true, and reliving distressing events in an altered state of awareness is not always pleasant. It’s not uncommon for such processes to end without proper closure—even with renowned practitioners—leaving clients with more complications than before.
This is not to criticize or dismiss the methods above. Both aim to help and were created with good intentions. But sometimes they simply don’t deliver what we most need.
Here’s a different approach—one that’s safer, practical, and lets us not only glance into the past but also resolve many of our problems quickly and effectively.
Some modern, advanced methods use the past not to analyze “why,” but to directly resolve what’s troubling us now.
We start with a list containing our negative experiences—a kind of inventory of our life—where we write down everything unpleasant we remember, from our earliest years (or as far back as we can recall).
In FasterEFT this is called the Peace List.
What belongs on the Peace List?
Every small and big problem, every hurt, disappointment, and any event—even minor ones—that carries a negative charge when you think of it.
If you haven’t done it yet, consider making such a list right after reading this article. You don’t have to show it to anyone—and you don’t have to “figure it out.” You may notice certain themes repeating themselves… these are patterns, and they often influence our future experiences the most.
But you don’t need to give this list any deeper meaning. Don’t worry about how long it is. It’s still just a piece of paper filled with words. It does not reflect the reality of who you are now.
So why bother if FasterEFT claims it can change most problems quickly? Because it helps to remember how humans learn and develop.
Our entire life is a learning space. School isn’t only eight years of basics followed by more years at vocational, secondary, or university levels. We also had our earliest years, when we learned to walk, collected new words daily, and essentially “downloaded” information from the world around us. We learned what seemed good and bad, and we formed our first impressions of what life is.
Learning never stops. Every day we gain new skills. From situations, experiences, and people’s reactions, our brains build physical pathways—instructions for how to handle events, how to behave, and how to feel.
At first, learning is hard… Think back to your first time driving a car—so many new things at once! But the more you drove, the easier it became. Now you might arrive at work barely aware of the route, because your conscious mind was elsewhere and your subconscious handled the driving.
We also learned to walk as children. It’s unrealistic to consciously control the muscles required for walking as an adult. Your conscious mind can’t handle all of that. Your subconscious runs the show—thankfully.
Now imagine a childhood filled with difficulties, or even trauma—your own private hell that you were simply happy to survive. People with such histories often carry ongoing struggles. For example, those with depression frequently get stuck thinking about what went wrong in life and therefore feel awful. Just as we learn to drive, we can also (unknowingly) learn to go deeper and deeper into depressive states.
Yes, a skilled practitioner can shift a current state quickly. But sometimes, after a while, a person slides back into old thinking patterns and the depression returns. Then they say “it didn’t work”—even if they felt better for days, weeks, or months.
That’s why one of the simplest and most effective ways to break these cycles is the Peace List.
Write down every negative event (big or trivial) you can remember and start resolving them. Don’t analyze—transform them with tapping or other processes. Change the memories into something different, more positive, so they no longer harm you but strengthen you and move you toward where you want to go.
Once you work through every memory you have—and the new ones that surface along the way—your life will shift in a big way. It will never be the same. You’ll discover deeper meaning, and life will feel more colorful, interesting, and joyful.
Is it quick? Not necessarily. You won’t finish in an hour or a day. You’ll spend meaningful time with your list—but it will be worth it. And as a bonus, you’ll likely lose several problems you thought you “couldn’t do anything about.”
What do you say—are you in?
For more detailed guidance and step-by-step processes to resolve your challenges, explore online trainings and books focused on FasterEFT.