I often do interviews talking about The Tapping Solution App and Tapping in general, and one of the ideas I share is how Tapping takes 5 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. (This principle can be applied to most things in life!)
Tapping is surprisingly simple to learn. Even kids can pick it up quickly. But to get the best results, to be able to use it effectively for yourself and the ones you love, you have to keep studying, exploring, and using it.
That being said, here are the top 5 mistakes I see people make regarding Tapping.
Ok, ok, I know this seems a little obvious… haha. But it’s a serious issue and one I’m sure you’ve faced. How often have you looked back on an event, or a day, or a physical problem you had for a while and thought, “Why didn’t I tap on that?”
I know I’ve spent half a day with a sore neck from sleeping wrong before I thought, “Duh! Tap on it!” And I’m supposed to be The Tapping Guy – how could I forget? 🙂
If you are unsure about what Tapping can help with, here’s a short list.
The reality is that this Tapping thing is relatively new for all of us. I’ve been using it, studying it, teaching about it for the past 10 years or so. But for the previous 25 years, I didn’t know about it, didn’t use it, had no experience of it. That’s A LOT of years of conditioning without having this tool, especially in the most formative years of childhood.
We simply haven’t had it as part of our lives, so we’ve developed habits that don’t include it. If you were taught how to tap as a child and were instructed that it was just as important (or more!) as brushing your teeth, you’d have a different experience now.
So the most basic reason most of us don’t use it is that we simply forget. Now, there can also be deeper issues for not using it, such as self-sabotage, reversals, fear of change, and so forth. I’ll be covering those separately in future posts. But for now, it’s important to just recognize that when you don’t use it, it’s often simply because you don’t think of it – and to gently, and kindly remind yourself to USE IT! 🙂
Here’s a little Tapping script to clear some of that resistance and those old habits. Try it now and see how it affects your week.
Karate Chop: Even though I haven’t been using Tapping as much as I could, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Karate Chop: Even though I could have made my life easier by using Tapping on (fill in the blank of a recent time when you might have used it), I choose to relax and forgive myself now.
Karate Chop: Even though I’m not used to turning to Tapping to solve my problems, I choose to start using it. I choose to become more resourceful, and to remember to use this powerful tool!
Eyebrow: I haven’t been tapping
Side of the Eye: Why not?
Under the Eye: Am I sabotaging myself?
Under the Nose: Maybe…
Under the Mouth: Or maybe I just forgot
Collarbone: Maybe I’m just not used to doing this
Under the Arm: But I can start using it now
Top of the Head: I’m tapping now!
Eyebrow: And that’s great
Side of the Eye: I choose to remember
Under the Eye: To tap!
Under the Nose: I choose to develop this positive habit
Under the Mouth: That can help me so much
Collarbone: It will make my life easier
Under the Arm: And that’s a choice I want to make
Top of the Head: I choose to tap when I most need it
Take a deep breath…
And let it go… Repeat a few times, or focus in on anything that came up while doing those short rounds.
Ok, now on to…
I always encourage people to start with global statements because it’s usually the easiest language to start with, and it can get things going in the right direction. What do I mean by a global statement? Something general like:
“Even though I’m not happy right now… I deeply and completely accept myself.”
That statement is global because it’s broad, and doesn’t focus on specifics.
From there, though, after a round or two of the global statement, it’s important to hone in on the specifics.
So in this case, you might go from, “Even though I’m not happy right now…” as the first statement, to “Even though I’m not happy right now because my boss was such a jerk today…”
Now you’ve focused on a specific event, which will get you better results. The more specific you can get, the better. Which leads us to Mistake #3…
Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, was a genius at identifying the importance of “aspects” to getting great results. What’s meant by aspects? An aspect is a specific “part” of the issue.
So in the case above, “Not being happy” – we go from the general to the specific, “I’m not happy because my boss was such a jerk”, to even more specific “aspects”.
So here are some potential aspects in this example:
“I’m not happy because my boss yelled at me.” (This is an “audible” aspect of the event)
“I don’t like the way he looked at me.” (This is an aspect of the experience, the “visual cue”)
“I felt his words hit me in the pit of my stomach.” (Here’s a “body sensation” to address)
“I’m worried he’s going to fire me.” (A “future fear” to address)
“It reminds me of the way my father used to talk to me.” (A “childhood trauma” to address)
“I never have good relationships with my bosses.” (A “limiting belief/past experience” to address)
And we could go on and on!
Now, sometimes issues can be handled with global tapping, but the great thing about working through aspects is that you’ll likely uncover so much more stuff that’s going on in your life. And clearing this particular experience with your boss can have massive repercussions on a bunch of other things!
For example, you start with the experience with your boss. But then you tap on how your father used to talk to you, and you heal that relationship problem and have a better (and less reactive) experience with your boss.
If you take the time to do it right, it can have profound effects that last a lifetime.
Which leads perfectly into Mistake #4…
This is a mistake I see A LOT of people make. They’ll say, “Yeah, I tried tapping on that, didn’t work.” And when I ask them how long they tapped on the issue, they say a couple of minutes, or a round or two! That’s rarely enough.
I see this in particular with physical pain. “Oh, my neck hurt so I tapped on it but it didn’t go away…”
“How long did you tap?”
“Two or three minutes.”
🙂
The 1-minute miracles DO happen, but more often than not, it takes some more sustained tapping.
I’m not saying that you have to spend hours doing it, but you really want to give it at least 15 minutes of sustained tapping to work through an issue properly.
My trick when I go to tap on something is to set a timer or some sort of alarm, and I promise myself I won’t stop until the 15 minutes are up. This prevents me from giving up quickly, being distracted, and so forth.
Or can also download The Tapping Solution App and explore the many guided meditations in there. Then you won’t have to time yourself at all – simply listen and tap along!
And finally…
If you’re working by yourself, I find it really helpful to have a pen and paper (or the computer) handy to take notes on what you want to work on, or to write down your progress on the 1-10 scale, or to record other things that come up while tapping.
The last item might be the most important – writing down other things that come up.
So here’s what this might look like. You write down:
“I’m frustrated with all the bills I got in the mail today. It’s a 7 on the 0-10 scale.”
You start tapping, the frustration goes down. But all of a sudden, some anger comes up. You write that down.
“I’m angry at myself for not working harder this month. It’s an 8.”
You tap on that. That eases and turns to sadness.
“I’m sad that this keeps happening. It’s a 5.”
You tap on that.
You check back in on the frustration you wrote about above. That’s a 1, you barely feel it.
The anger moved to a 4. There’s still something there, you tap on that further.
While doing that tapping, you think of two events from your childhood.
“That time that my father said I’d never amount to anything.”
“My mother crying because we didn’t have enough money.”
You write down both events because you know that you want to address each separately.
And so forth…
It is truly like peeling an onion. And while it might seem complicated at first, once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. And it becomes even easier when you write stuff down and stay on track.
The other nice thing about writing things down is that if you’re not ready to tackle something right then, or don’t have the time to, you have it written down to go back to later.
Well, there you have it! The top 5 mistakes I see people make with EFT – and how to solve them!
Until next time…
Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner
Copyright © 2024 The Tapping Solution, LLC
Thank you so much for those very helpful “mistakes”. I am guilty and will work using your suggestions. It is very hard to come up with the wording and when to change. I will have to work on that as well.
Nick,
what a great post on the 5 mistakes that most of us make while we tap. The more I tap, the better results I have. With these 5 mistakes revealed, I can avoid them and get more from my tapping exercises. Being more specific will be of great value to myself.
Thank You For What You Do!!!
Excellent article Nick! A great blueprint for getting the best out of tapping/EFT.
Thank you, Nick! This was just what I needed to hear/read!
This is a helpful summary, and a good perspective on the basic principles. I especially needed to be reminded of how important it is to follow through on all the aspects of an issue or feeling.
Thanks!
Hi Nick,
It is really helpful and easy to understand, I am new to eft and am finding it remarkable. One thing that helped me when I kept rushing throught the sequence was to breath into the points which slowed me down, I don’t do it everytime but it helps when I am a bit nervous about the issue that I am tapping. Great article.
You sure hit a nerve with this blog!! A great reminder. Boy, do I have to change my ways of tapping. It”s such a great tool Thankyou so much for keeping me on top of what you’re doing.
Thanks, Nick. These are all things that I do. I’m glad to know that they’re common. I’ve only been tapping for a short time, but from what I’ve been hearing, it’s clear to me already that I’ve got to be a bit more disciplined about it, and I’m glad that you emphasized the importance of writing stuff down, doing longer sessions, and getting more specific. I suspect that the last will get better the more I do it.
Could you/would you lay out some verbage for really obstinate hot flashes? Thanks.
Thanks, Nick! Your tips are always very helpful. I sat quietly and meditated a little the other day…then tapped very thoughtfully on my sore neck, shoulders issues. I did at least 6 rounds…relaxed, took some deep breathes and got up to go about my day. Funny how we quickly recognize pain…but more slowly realize when it’s gone! I love EFT…tap..tap…tap!!!
Thanks Nick, really great to have these reminders. Very much appreciated
Thanks nick.
Writing from Serbia.
I keep tapping.
Thanks Nick for your continued support. I enjoy the humourous approach you use to keep us all out there on our toes.
Your The Top Five Mistakes certainly hit a nerve as I could identify with all five. At first I thought it was a bit of a problem but then thought at least I recognise it and therefore can do something about it. I feel you are so in tune with the general issues that apply to us all and its a great help. I never tire of reading your updates, finding them clear and easy to read as well as informative.
Thank you for your unselfish sharing, helping us all to grow
Sally
thank you nick, this is why i start learning about tapping, people like you that make it woth to us that are new to it, and do not know any better. so i really apreciate what you are doing because my life and the people arround me are reaping the benefits. thank you so very much. yours trully Mauricio Londono.
Thanks Nick, these are really useful reminders.
Dear Mike,
I am guilty of all 5 but also I frequently I forget to get a number of the level of concern until I am 1/2 way thru the first round. When I am doing this with a client, is it better to stop and get the number or finish the first round?
In this world when we are overwhelmed by the input that we choose to subject ourselves to, simple reminders are so helpful. We need a” keep it simple” movement! Way to go and flow. Thanks Nick, keep up stirring the pot.
It blew me away that you were promoting Christie’s Love or Above teleconference. I thought, oh yeah, another pie in the sky conference (I have been through a few), but Christie’s interested me and seemed quite reasonable in concept and in price. I got all this from numerologist Mike Madigan and signed up for Christie’s Love or Above online event not two hours ago.
I apologize for that negative thought but I tried the tapping thing when you were on the World Energy is Everything event. I had tremendous results and was pain-free for the first time in months. Then the pain came back. I tried it myself and it didn’t work very well. After going over my notes, I realized I had missed a couple of steps…no wonder it wasn’t working. So I added the missing steps. It worked a little better but not much. I was disappointed, and thought it must have been a fluke and went back to taking morphine tablets etc. After reading all of this article, I see that I have been making all five of the mistakes you list.
So back I go to the drawing board. I’m glad to have read this and realize I need to practise. When I first saw about tapping (your World Tapping event), I had a feeling that it might work for me. However, doubt crept in and I decided not to attend it. Then, when you were on David and Kristin’s show, I had that same feeling. I should learn to trust my gut feeling. It’s usually right.
Thanks for providing what I need to hear.
Guilty on all 5 counts. When I first learned about EFT I did it on everything. But since then I have been learning about so many other self-help tools that I’ve become so overwhelmed. Sometimes I feel like a sponge with the water faucet on full blast. I can only hold so much. I’ve decided to whittle away most of the other tools, but keep coming back to tapping as my foundation. Thanks for giving me some concrete things that I can do to make my tapping more successful and focused.
Thanks so much Nick, I really needed this today at this moment of despair about not creating the transformation I had planned for this summer (in myself), so I used your script and forgave myself and am so happy to be tapping again. A lot came up and was released, including relationship clearing, with my fiance and within myself (taking that internal critic off the throne). My man has agreed to listen to this Thursday night’s talk/meditation with me, and he is not at all into this stuff (he’s an engineer). Your sharing is SO helpful! I remembered to get out my essential oils, and used a blend “light of God” which amplified the positive effects of the tapping. I recommend therapeutic grade oils (not processed with heat), chosen by muscle testing or intuition at the beginning of the tapping sequence – I use a drop on palm, rub palms together, breathe in, and a bit of oil on the points for tapping or the fingertips. Thanks again for all of your help!
I loved the blog today! I actually had an issue on Saturday and thought “I could tap for this!” My problem – I don’t know any local practitioners (Mesa, Arizona). Do you have some suggestions on how to find a local practitioner or a global practitioner who is accepting new clients?
I love the idea of setting my timer to make sure I tap long enough. Writing down what I am tapping on and the level of intensity are the areas I need to really work on. Thanks for the insight and encouragement!
Hi Marilyn,
Thank you! Try http://www.tappinginternational.com to find a practitioner. Good luck!
🙂
Nick
You nailed me! I’ve been having shoulder pain for several months. I’m great at tapping on emotional pain, but somehow overlook how powerful tapping can be for physical pain as well–which, as we know, often has emotional roots anyway! Thank you!
Thanks Nick,
I am one of those who always benefits but never comments. I have been tapping for a few years now and have changed my reactions to negativity quite amazingly (I am not taking the credit for this, it just happens due to the EFT experience). Your and Jessica’s emails are always a welcome sight to see in my inbox as is well attested to by many here who have commented.
Of the 5 mistakes, not enough is the one for me. So, I will take your reminders today and apply them and as usual will benefit greatly. I will make it my mission to tap way more. Otherwise, I am doing pretty well with my tapping sessions according to your 5 mistake list. That is encouraging to me so thanks very much!!
I also loved reading all the comments today. All these people are so great!! Bravo everyone!!
Thanks again Nick!
Nick, thanks for the article, all good advice. I would add a number 6. “Test the work thoroughly”. Many people think they are finished when a different idea shows up. If the work is not tested thoroughly and all parts of the incident are not released the problem can come back or continue to seem like a problem.
Keep up the good work,
al
Nick…..Great newsletter and you hit a chord! Thanks!
The minute I saw that we should tap for at least 15 mins!!!! you lost me….However! Not for long, because it made me realize, “aspects” of laziness, fear or procrastination, (maybe all three?) are contingent to my primary initial tapping issue, which is, doing a major step in my business to reach an intended goal faster, that I have put off for far too long!!??
Tap for me for my success!
Mare,
Long time reader….first time writer
Love the article Nick and I want to echo the sentiments thanking you for recognizing Gary. One tip I give to my own clients when they complain of not knowing what to say while they tap is to imagine you’re venting to a trusted friend all about your crappy day, or that lousy thing your spouse did and tap as you do. Just talk and tap, it can be that simple to get the intial charges down and that makes it easier to explore the underlying limiting beliefs/traumas/fears etc.
Thanks for being such a strong voice for EFT!
Pretty good Nora Gee! Thank you for expressing it so nicely… I feel well represented. Having said that, my deepest gratitude to you Nick for this timely reminder!
Love & blessings, xxx
I tap with my clients and sometimes I talk to friends and think “you should tap on this”…. but I “forget” to do it for myself! But is it really that I forget? Maybe it is fear of change or the feeling of not being worthy of an “easier life”… I’ll tap on it! Thank you!
Thanks. I’m brand new at this and your info is very helpful.
Nick, this comes at the perfect time for me – I set a goal this month to spend an hour a day on tapping, meditation, and whatever other techniques are appealing to me, to help me move in the direction I want to go. So # 1 is just perfect! And I really love your explanation of aspects and suggestion to write stuff down as it comes up.
You even gave me an explanation for why my back pain didn’t go away this morning – I didn’t tap long enough!
Thank you SO much for this amazing post!
Thanks Nick! Needed to be reminded.
thank you so much both you and ur sister are such sharing caring people, its so refreshing to find people who give away tips and advice, this has been a big reminder for me, I need to tap on starting things and not seeing them through, which no doubt will throw up lots of other things to tap on, I have felt in a strange emotional physical place at the moment, things seem to be completley out of balance, my body is giving me messages that I cant seem to decipher, I appear to get well and than something else happens to my body, I have not tapped enough, as I have been feeling down and sorry for my self ( something else to tap on), especially as I know it works so well, my partner said today how come u have all these healing tools yet u are so ill latley, this really made me think, I really believe where I give so much at work and to collegues, I am depleting myself, or maybe not protecting myself enough, so ur wise words could not have come at a better time, love and light to both u and jessica x
Nick, Writing from Islamabad,Pakistan.Very helpful article.Have used tapping and found it works but am guilty of the mistakes you mention.Will try and avoid them.Thank you for making us aware of them.
Hi Nick;
Thank you so much for your emails!!
It brightens my day to see an email from you
in my inbox!!
EFT really works for me!
Saturday morning my lower back hurt so much
I could hardly get out of bed.
I used EFT and the pain was gone!!
I was so amazed!!
Yes, so I hope you get enough blogs to keep
on writing to us!!
Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR KEEPING ON
KEEPING ON!!
Love and light from Eva Gabrielle
Hello Nick,
As a Hypnotherapist I use Tapping and I teach it to all of my clients. I often refer people to your site because you keep it simple. This article is the evidence of the way you keep Tapping simple.
Thank you!,
Joann
hello.
Dear EFT team and practitioners.
I would like to relay my appreciation to you.
The method is powerful but you go the extra mile and give us so many free tips.
I use the method with Ho oponopono and to heal my chakras and by itself.
I have amazing results. some border with miracles some just help daily life….
Thank you for your work and love.
with meta
peya
The 5 tips we’re very helpful. I’m new to tapping and was not doing it long enough or soecific enough. It was a little discouraging to me. I am now feeling excited to try these new ideas to make mt tapping more effective. Thanks!
Hi Nick,
Every once and awhile I like to send a note to represent the people who never comment, we still appreciate your tips, words of encouragement and referrals. We receive your sincere positive energy and admire your dedication to helping the world through your mission. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks Nick! Great info and I really appreciate the additional insight and ways to increase my use of EFT. I use it a lot, but know I can still use it more effectively. You nailed me right off the top with the neck pain that I’ve had for several weeks – and never thought to tap on.
I started tapping with my affirmations and doing them on while I’m bouncing on my rebounder first thing every morning. I feel that is boosting my energy in several ways and setting my positive intentions for the day and getting my lymph system moving, blood pumping, and breathing more deeply. Thanks for your great work and blessing all of us by sharing it (and recognizing Gary Craig). I’m grateful for you and Jessica and Carol Look and all those who have helped me with my tapping and healing! Keep up the good work.
Thank you Nick for that great article. I was a little bit worried when starting to read your post, but I am glad to say I am doing alright with tapping after reading this! 🙂 I tap every day at the moment on a specific subject. It takes a bit of commitment, but it definitely changes my energy. However, you’ve reminded me to also tap on the more ‘daily’ things in life- thanks!
Great advice, but how about some positive tapping- “every day in every way I’m getting better and better” and other Louise Hay affirmations?
I liked the blog post…I’m loving EFT…I am a newbie….I get confused about what to say when I’m tapping….I can get the problem…I can get the number…I can get started…then somewhere around my nose….I don’t know what else to say….how to tap through the negative…how to change it to the positive…..I will keep working at it….Thanks for your help!
Nick,
Thanks for pointing out the way we can solve those 5 mistakes. It was really helpful and eye opening for me.
here is a reason I don’t tap enough: I don’t want to become angelic.
So this is the fear I need my anger to overcome my shyness to speak out.
And because I just became aware of this, I plan to tap on this fear. I don’t want to live with fear any longer.
So thanx for your article in your blog.
thanks for this and yes i do forget to tap and when i do tap i dont do it for very long and find that i have so many things to tap about that i become bored with it – but il take one step at a time and at least try to remember to tap at least once a day and then take it from there thank u 🙂
Nick – I thought your reminder about how to tap effectively was terrific! I am sharing it with some friends who don’t tap, likely for the reasons you suggest, although they’ve heard my stories re how incredibly beneficial tapping has been for me.
Thank you for the great information. This is all relatively new to me so I’m feeling a little like a sponge :). Keep up the good work and, again, thank you so much! Toni
Thanks for this timely post…. I am about to do my first EFT for a friend. I am grateful for the specifics.
Thanks for these. I think that I often don’t tap for long enough. I find that the surrogate taping that Jessica gave us works really really well and it lasts for 15 min. Also I sometimes don’t tap when it could really help. I really appreciate this article. I’m going to start writing things down and giving myself more time for tapping. Tomorrow I’m going to do 15 min on the feeling of not being motivated to go to work, feeling tired, etc…
Annmarie
Thank you Nick, I love how you make things so clear! I plead guilty to all five! I have recently done EFT 1, and am finding it very powerful, but I still don’t tap on lots of things, like procrastination….of course you are right when you say we have not had tapping as a habit for very long, and so we fall back into old habits.
I have just used your suggested script to tap on why I am putting off getting started on a very important project, so thank you for these very helpful clarifications.