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
I am also guilty of all 5, this inspires me to get with the program….. I know that it works I have proved that to myself and have been incouraging others, now I need to get serious about it in my daily life.. Thanks Nick for your help..
Merci pour le poste, J’avais besoin de lire ce à ce moment.
Love the work you and your team do, Nick. The tapping summit was great and so are your updates. I am spreading the word about tapping. I also trust your recommendations about others… so please, keep up the highest standards too about who else you recommend. Keep up the good work. And a big thank you!
This is excellent thank you Nick. I had a pain in my knee which went immediately. I keep fprgetting to Tap so this is a great reminder.
Thank you thank you!! I am very new to tapping and have been raving about it but have been absolutely guilty about not doing itenough or as thoroughly as I could. The advice on how to work through specific aspects is particularly helpful and I now feel I can specifically set aside the necessary time each day to really benefit from the process.
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement, it is much appreciated!
Excellent sugestions. Everybody should follow these relegiously.
Many many thanks.
PKG
Thnak you Nick, this article was a real eye opener I am open to tapping but not using it often enough and also not be ing specific so many of the faults that you mentioned I am guilty of, I have been trying to teach all my loved ones my mother in law, mum siters colleagues friends you name it and I wanna share it plus it comes naturally because I am a trainer on corporate level for soft skills programmes in South Africa, only thin I woukld love to buy your dvd however I dont own a credit card only debit card !
Thank you for your awesome contribution to humanity wish more ppl were open to it
Your s in Abundance
the mistake that i have been making is that i have not been using tapping. This email just came at the right time when i was feeling down,so i decided to give ita try. I feel so good.
You got me a number 1!!! It so usual to loose momentum and decide that things are not working but it is usually because we have not been consitent in using them!!!
This is all absolutely true for me! I know tapping works, I’ve used it before and found it really helpful and I’m always recommending it to people. But I don’t do it anymore!!
My saboteur is alive and kicking! Thank you for reminding me.
Thanks a lot for the reminder and all the informations you gsve, they are really of big help. God Bless you..
Nick, thank you very much, for reminding me to get more specific, and write things down.
Procrastination is one I’m tapping on right now.
It was perfect timing, thanx again, for all your great work.
Blessings to you and Jesseca,
Inge
To Joanne,
Don’t give up!! You may have a lot of issues, but that makes it all the more important to tap. Do it every day, and tap on what seems to be the most important at the time. Figure times to do it: I’ve done virtual tapping while shoveling, regular tapping while driving, tapping in the bathroom, while waiting for the copier, etc. You could even tap on “what is the most effective issue for me to tap on now?” and see if that helps. Just keep tapping!! Good luck.
Alison
Thanks for the reminder! That is all so true. I have certainly not been doing it much. It is so good to hear this from someone else. I think I will do some tonight!
Cheers,
Alison
I have just learned about Tapping. I have used NLP off and on over the years, mostly using a trigger to recall a great moment before going into a new segment to pre-pave my desired results.
I am now using Tapping in conjunction with the teaching of Abraham-Hicks, Law of Attraction, etc. I am expecting great results from the combination.
Thank you. These mistakes are probably the reason it is not happening as fast as I have hoped. I just learned I can use it for anything. I had not thought of using it for neck pain, etc.
Thanks again, Ray
Thanks I really needed to see that in writing, helps me get back on the wagon. Take care.
I need to take a better look at all of the the five. Of course, all good things require commitment. I enjoyed the movie, and should watch it more often. And, of course, I need to find out where I’m going wrong. Thank you for this.
Really good, clear, helpful suggestions that I found really did make a difference. Thanks!
Hello Nick! your work is wonderful, I’m very gratefull to you for all the useful information you do, and the reminder is OK, I always though that it is very short, not taking account the aspect, thank you, God bless you, nancy
Thanks so much for this awesome list Nick. Super helpful! It’s great to have a reminder. We all get stuck in the habit of wanting quick fixes from time-to-time, so it’s great to have your top 5 handy for whenever the temptation for “two-minute tapping” takes over (something I’ve been guilty of lately)!
This explanation was especially helpful. Clear, concrete, and came at the perfect time for me. I am so grateful that you are sharing your skill/ability. Wishing you joy and continued success.
Hi Nick,
Thanks so much for the EFT reminders. I am using it every day as I know the benefits are realized. It’s a great tool for everyone. I am teaching others how to use it as well. I met someone new, this past weekend, who also knows of this technique. That was a wonderful feeling.
Thanks for all your emails.
Helen
!You are absolutly right! !Im going to put my attention in those 5 mistakes! Thank you!
I can identify with quite a number of people who have commented. I don’t do #1 and, at the same token, I’ll tell people about the amazing things that can happen with EFT and relate what happened when I worked with a client using EFT: the phobia about driving a car was gone!
I often just delete your e-mails without opening them. There was a reason I opened this one, not a fluke! There are a number of issues that need work! Procrastination is one of them!
I’ll start/resume – today. Thanks!
Thanks Nick, I really needed that. Gives me a fresh new start>
Lovingly, Kathleen
Hi Nick, Well I am guilty of all the above. I do get results when I do tap. I have been dealing with dry eye for quite some time now and I tap on that often. I have other issues that I have not tackled as of yet. I have alot of sadness due to a family member, and what I read today, I think that it will help me to tap on that specific thing. I think my problem is really how to phrase just what the problem is. I believe you have given me that. I will put that to work and see what happens.
Thanks for all you do!
Bernie……
I was told that the purpose of tapping is to release the energy you have been holding on to and you are releasing it forever. But Now I am hearing that you have to keep doing it.
I am sorry that sounds like it is only a temporary fix. At what point do you get to enjoy the benefit of being over what it is that is holding you back and move on with your life?
Perhaps there is a missing piece of the puzzle not yet discovered. Perhaps it is not the end all be all as promised.
Hi Nick, I haven’t got words to start this massage, I am so overwhelm that the only thing I can say at this very moment is Thank you very much for this blog, it was exactly what I needed this morning, I know that your message is going to help me tremendously, because I have been procrastinating since I know about the tapping. I tray on and off and never got any where, now I have all the tools I need I won’t have any excuses, and truly I do want to change my life, the way I’m going I do not know where I’m going to finish .
You are going to hear from me again, thank you for the tremendous work you are doing.
God Bless you.
Love and Light.
Liliana from Australia.
I’m guilty of even more mistakes than you enumerated. I purchased the book, “Discover The Power Of Meridian Tapping ” and the movie, “The Tapping Solution”. Previous to that I had downloaded some free materials from you and Jessica. I haven’t watched the movie yet, and just cracked the book for the first time a few days ago while listening to Margaret M Lynch.
What really helped, now that I have seen the tapping sequences on screen, was the written “little tapping script” you provided in “The Five Mistakes”. I was amazed at how clearly everything fell into place while I was reading the script…instead of trying to come up with my own words. Maybe I just need to tap on self confidence a little more, knowing I will come up with the right words with a little practice. Thanks for the mini-aha. Jimbo
p.s. I just went back to see what I had previously downloaded, and listened to Jessica’s interview with Stacey Vornbrock from The Tapping World Summit 2010, and read along from the PDF of the same interview. I had some major shifting when we tapped on body betrayal. Thanks again for the information …and motivation.
found this email very useful keep up the good work
Thanks so much Nick for reminding me. I have already experienced great benefits since I learned about tapping just before your amazing world summit back in February this year. Yet I still have resistances and wonder ‘Am I doing this right?’ and ‘Is it really working?’. Well it definately helps me create a better life, but I have found it difficult to separate the different issues and so it’s great to have your guiding clarity. I am in the middle of re-locating and major lifestyle change. Lots to tap on there! I keep reminding myself that there are great opportunities to clear because of it. Caroline UK
dear nick i send you so much good energi – what an amazing imput you just put out there to day – thank you so much
love i
I have made all these mistakes and more. What really stops me, though, is that when I think about tapping, I become so tired that I feel like I am made of cement, and the idea of tapping is so overwhelming that I don’t even go there. When I have done it, it takes forever to get through the process, and often I have little success to show for it. Stressed for time as a constant condition of life, that is a big one for me. It actually feels like all my issues are rolled up into a ball of yarn, all connected in some way and going back to some core issue that I would have to tap for a year without stopping to get there, and maybe even then I wouldn’t get through. It always sounds so tempting when I hear people’s miracle stories. Sure has not gone that way for me!
Thank you, Nick. Very practical information and right on. I’m going to copy this and keep it handy. I needed this reminder.
Nick, I love all your teachings, but can you help with a problem I have in that when I try to measure my feelings on the 1-10 scale I can’t ‘feel’ the emotion to measure it. Any tips would be very grateful.
Hello Nick
My senciere complements for all your good work! I’m benefitting a lot from it, I have a practice for natural healing and we learned at school about EFT. But since I get your mails I’m beginning to understand much more of its power. I live in the Netherlands and I am so happy that you and your sister make these webinars so I can look at it and than translate them for my own use in my practice, so please continue, I am a great fan of your good work, because I’ve learned that most people with healthissues suffer from negative emotions. It is great that we can teach them such an easy way, to help them release these issues. Thank you from my heart Margôt
Hi Nick. Like a lot of other comments I am quite new to this.thank you for the emails.
They are always full of interesting info. I am quilty of all 5 mistakes. I think the main
one I have now discovered is not using it enough. I had this misconception that one
should only use it for really big problems but it makes sense to learn to use it for every
day little problems. What you learn to do is to talk to your subconcions in a fashion.
I really enjoy the idea of tapping and am amazed at the use to get relief from fisical pain,amazing. Thanks Nick for sending out all the messages, they are most welcome.
God bless.
Fred. South Africa.
Wow. That was really helpful! Please keep these coming!
This is the first time I’ve ever commented on a ‘blog’. (I’m 65 on Sat. My children keep me going on the pc. I love learning new things like this —and tapping is really helping!)
I got going on tapping on a recommendation from Dr. J.B. Richards and have been doing it about a month. I am NOW SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT thanks in part to tapping and trusting in God, after being an insomniac for 35 years! Now I’m working on compulsive overeating.
Keep up the good work, Nick! ^,,^ XOX
Thank you Nick for the tips. I keep putting off the tapping because of pressure to get important things done but i know inside that taking the time for it now will help me to prioritise . I have got out of the habit of writing things down – thanks for bringing that up. I also always felt I had to get the first phrase down to 4 or 2 before I could go on to tap on anything that comes up along the way but you have made it clear here that I can move back and forth on related issues before finishing the original tapping.
A question I’d like to put is “What do the tapping points connect to on the meridians. Is the under eye point liver/kidney as in Shiatsu etc and the chin the intestinal area? Does that make under the nose the stomach and what is the top of head etc? If you can say it would help in knowing which part of the organs/body we are communicating with but I understand if you can’t say.
I’m in the U.K. so times don’t coincide in order to listen to any live events. Sorry.
With many thanks for all you do.
Elissa.
Well, there ya go! How effective tapping REALLY is since I haven’t been doing ANY of the five things right, and I STILL get some results…..wow. You can bet I will start doing it for at least 10-15 minutes per serious aspect (of which I have many, giving me stroke-level High Blood Pressure, and some maybe serious heart issues). Even doing it wrong all this time, I am able to lower my pressure within 2 minutes from 189 to 150, or 165 to 140, so hopefully now, doing it right will give me some life-saving results. Thanks so much for the article, I feel it was written just for me….
Thank you Nick! I never realized that I needed to tap for a minimum of 15 minutes! That may be something most people already know but for a new tapper that is crucial.
brilliant tips Nick, I’m just starting out with Tapping – and that info is sooo helpful.
In reverse, they make a good 5 Tips on how to Tapp effectively – in a nutshell !!!
fantastic, thanks 🙂
Thanks Nick you are the best and yes, I think that the writing things down will be helpful for me as I don’t tend to do that. And of course remembering to tap in the first place.
I found it very helpful to understand that tapping isn’t going to cure all forever and is a tool for a lifetime. Make lots of sense! I love tapping and all of the good people who share so generously their advice and teachings.
All best,
Laine
Thanks Nick! As many have already said – it is a very timely message – I’ve just spent the last week absolutely exhausted and feeling horrible and didn’t tap on it. I thought about it several times and then would forget to do it. I just did the tapping script you gave on not tapping and felt an energy flow to my toes. Thanks for the reminder to tap. Sometimes I feel like I have so many issues to tap on that I end up spending alot ot time thinking about all the issues I should be tapping on and then feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. I have told myself that I’ll just take it one step at a time and then forget. Any suggestions when one doesn’t have the energy to tap and feels overwhelmed with so many physical and emotional issues. I feel like I have to spend my whole day tapping in order to deal with all my issues (eg. fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue, thyroid/adrenal hormone issues, asthma, weight issues, OCD, anxiety/depression, procrastination, clutter and the list goes on and on). I do belong to the insiders club and have done some of the scripts for specific topics and it’s a great help but it still feels like it does take alot of time and when I don’t have the time I tend to forget about tapping. Anyone else have this experience? Apart from my feelings of overwhelm, I do think there’s alot of great info on your site and very helpfull. Thanks so much.
Thank you, Nick. Very helpful.
Have you ever thought of combining tapping and dancing? You could call it tap dancing.;)
Hi Nick, Thank you again for all your help. Now I am confident that tapping is going to work for me.
Blessings
Eufemia
Thank you, Nick! Tapping has really helped me and my children with many issues but it’s true that we tend to forget as problems (or illusions of problems…) arise. This was a timely reminder and very much appreciated. I like that it was written, scripted instead of having a video. I’m not always in an area where I can tap along with someone on screen and I have this script in my purse for quick reference. Thanks for all your great work! Blessings, Mary-Ann
Great stuff–thanks!
Thank you for this article….I hadn’t considered that reducing how much I’ve been doing it is a form of self-sabotage.