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
his article is so thorough. It can take you right through a very deep self limiting incident to complete release if you do it thoroughly. I had been tapping on a issue for 3 days and still couldn’t come to, “I profoundly and Completely love, accept and forgive myself.” and actually mean it. I’d tap at night before going to sleep and after a few rounds, I’d go to the aspect that I have the most charge within the incident and use it as a setup statement. If I can’t bring myself to say, “I profoundly and completely love, accept and forgive myself.” truthfully, then I know haven’t reach a resolve and need to tap more. Sometimes, I would get sleepy and that would be a sign that something has released and I’d let myself fall asleep. In the morning, I would test it using the most sensitive aspect to see if the emotional charge was still there. For over 3 days, every time I would come to that point, I would be overwhelmed with a flood of tears. Finally, at one point, I began to see that I totally had no choice in the matter. Being a Chinese woman from my generation, I was programed to be polite and didn’t know how to say no, which trapped me in a relationship that wasn’t suited for me. After trying to leave my husband many times and hurting him profoundly each time, I just couldn’t forgive myself for all the pain I had caused him. Realizing that I was programed to be the way I was in my formative years, on the 4th day, I was finally ready to forgive and accept myself. There are still aspects, and I still cry when I remember them, but I know it’s just a matter of time when I will be able to fully release them. My husband and I were together for 31 years, and in the last few years, I started to fall profoundly and completely in love with him. I had started tapping over 10 years ago and regret the fact that I didn’t use it every time we had an argument. I did notice that when I did tap there would always be a miraculously shift, in the beginning of the argument, I could easily see that it was all his fault, after tapping I would then see all the things that I did to bring the argument to the table. A great man that I totally admire, Werner Erhard always said, “Which ever person you’re with is the one.” My husband, whom I could never see our compatibility would have been my perfect soul mate, if I had only tapped to eliminate all my self limited thoughts. Thank you, Nick.
Hi Nick, your post you put up are so helpful I was using tapping for stress and anxiety and it was helping pretty fast started feeling better telling my family and friends about it but my anxiety and negitive thoughts came back and reading this made me realize that I stopped tapping cause I was feeling better not knowing that it would come back because I really haven’t gone over everything I need to I will be starting to tap again and make sure I do it everyday THAK YOU FOR YHE GREAT ADVICE AS ALWAYS
Thanks Nick – this was very helpful. I know i haven’t tapped enough and definitely get caught in what to say when tapping. I usually use the pre-recorded tappings like the one at the end of the day etc.
I have got to start using it more!
Marcy
Thanks Nick so much for being so patient and diligent with us ‘slower learners’! I am such a procrastinator, never really getting down to the nitty gritty of commitment, yet wanting the results badly! I am really, really going to try harder at this now! But you’re right when you say it is a learned habit we need to consistently practice until it becomes second nature. Thank you!
Tapping tapping seems relatively simple and the 5 mistakes seem so obvious. Yet I make those mistakes. I never usually write down what I’m working on. It seems I only tap when I am seeking relief from an intense negative emotion. This article helps and reminds me how integral tapping is to my well being as much as eating, exercising and breathing! Since my spiritual growth is the most relevant thing in my life, now I am going to apply tapping more often, even when it feels like some “new age” mind game! Hey! I can tap on that! Thanks Nick
I am interested in training at the tapping institute. Is there an online application process?
More tapping,
Binta
Guilty of not spending long enough each time I tap. When I do have a longer round because things keep coming up I self sabotage telling myself I’m taking too long. Thanks for reminding me about this important aspect of tapping.
thank you Nick, I learned about tapping many years ago from a therapist and have recently started doing it again. Your blogs and videos have helped me to hone in on my issues. Keep up the good work.
I have just begun to learn about Tapping and am finding it both interesting and exciting. Anxious to learn all I can and to help others and myself.
But when you say tap for 15 minutes, do you mean tap on one sentence (I’m angry because…) for 15 minutes or does that include tapping on whatever surfaces = the whole tapping session lasts 15 minutes?
Really loved this one! I took your Money Tapping course a while back, and have forgotten to use this technique for issues beyond just my finances. This post really inspired me to use tapping to get to the core of what’s holding me back in life. Thank you! =)
Thanks for writing this, Nick!! Wonderfully helpful tips and great reminders here. I think I’ll print them up and post them all over my house!
Thankyou, Nick, for this great article! My tapping is getting better, but I have a lot tp learn! My mistake was not tapping a whole round pn the negative thoughts. But Ive learned one must do that!
Thank u Nick… I think 1. I battle to start tapping… almost as if my body says “NO” this is a big think I have to get over as it almost feel wrong to do tapping. But once I start I feel really good. I also do not write things down and then forget where I am. I tap long enough but not deep enough. Maybe I am scared of things that might come up. If I cannot get to sleep it is a good way to relax and then I have a good night sleep.
Thank you thankyou, i was just saying to meself that i need to do what im learning from you more often and stop letting problems build up etc. Thank you Nick ever so much for your inspirational learnings and prompts to keep tapping and how. And yes i need to do it longer,more often and yes take notes of what other issues come up.Thank You ever So Much.
I agree, I do not use it enough, right now I am having financial, health , depression…problems, know they are not just going away,,,I am starting today, Thanks Nick, for the reminder.
Thank you for these tips they are really helpful and I will put them into practice. I will remember the quote tapping takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master, as that is the key, you never stop learning and you must never stop tapping.
I have had such an amazing experience on myself with tapping and now I am ready to help other people as I believe in it so much. I love your book and look forward to hearing more.
Toni
I love this article and I’m sure without doubt eft WORKS! However my challenge has been how to feel those problems or issues, when it’s time for me to tap, I always have difficulties tuning into the problem or feel it. When this happens I get frustrated.
I’m new to tapping. Tonight I felt upset that I chose to stress eat instead of tap, but then I saw this blog and was able to tap about not tapping! I appreciate all the work you do and what you share.
Dear Nick,
I want to ask when you tap do you have to speak out loud or
Or can you just say it in your head.?
Thank you for this post…this I an eye opener for me.
I have friends that come to me with issues and I automatically guide them with tapping and it comes very easily for me…In fact, it’s the first thing that comes to my mind….However… I don’t know why but I don’t think to do it for myself.. I am a happy person…lots of good things happening in my life especially in the last year or so, and It’s like if I thought my issues were only small stuff compared to what other people are going through…. Could it be self sabotage? or maybe afraid of being too happy? The question came up to my mind but I cannot find the answer…I guess I have something to tap on….
thank you
Solange
Ouch! Several points hit home on this blog. I better get crackin.. THANKS! for the push in the right direction! -MrsD
Hi Nick, Like Jerry below it really is helping me to have a script. Even a simple one to get started. I am a newbee at this and so far I am making all the mistakes so…script is good. This post on the mistakes people make when beginning to tap is really helpful.. Thank you so much. I’m laughing at myself right now. I will keep at it and I know I will get better as time goes on and I will not give up.
Hah.
That was a very helpful post. Thank you!
I am reading your book, first I wantr to tell you that I am translating to spanish, and sometimes is a little difficult to get the idea in my language, the mistakes you mention wow I was making most of them and giving up on tapping thank you for your recomandations keep in touch I will contiuo reading you, and I want to say that sometimes I feel like is an unendding story while I start digging on my issues is this right.
teresa mayoral
Hey Nick, I do agree people have a difficult time thinking of a script. I know I do. When I see an example you have I Modify it to my issue. Its just getting started and finding the right central words. If you can, when you show examples of scripts to use,can you please put them separately so that we can print them individually. I believe this will help some that need something tangible.Also not a bad idea that once its printed its infront of you as a reminder and also to fold and bring along. Great to do karate chops with the window up and people think your drumming to music.Thanks
Hi Nick, thank you for sharing about some mistakes people make when using EFT.
Mistake #4: Not tapping for long enough. I hadn’t realized it but there were issues that I haven’t been tapping for long enough on. I think that after following the tapping procedure to let go of the negative and limiting beliefs I didn’t follow through with rounds of the positive aspects of what I want to change.
Even though I haven’t been tapping long enough, I choose to become more resourceful, and to remember to use this powerful tool!
Hi Nick,
I’m reading this blog of yours two years down the road, and I’m finding it very helpful. I’ve tried tapping a number of times in the past but found “it didn’t work for me” and this is helping me see that I might have given up too soon. I will try using a timer and tapping for at least 15 minutes like you said. And I’ll be sure to start writing things down too. Thank you for all your tips. I will also tap on “even though tapping doesn’t seem to work for me”. Thank you for these generous blogs.
I’m having a big problem with finances. I’m going to work at the taping for some help. Thanks for the information.
Thank u Nick ! I have read 5 Mistakes.One thing I want to report that after three days tapping,I am feeling little pain on side of Eye Brows, under neath the brows as well as on other points e.g. Karate Chop & down below except top of head .In case the sequence is dis ordered,is it also a mistake ? Kindly guide me what to do ? thank u again.
Kindly elaborate the meaning —Global statement—“I deeply and completely accept myself” Here what is to be accepted ?
Thank you Nick. I purchased the last event but have felt overwhelmed and concerned with not doing it right or not addressing the correct thing first.
So I hadn’t started tapping, therefore, feeling guilty. So with those feelings on top of my health concerns, etc. I have felt more overwhelmed and more guilty. This blog has helped me get started. I guess I could start with, “Even though I feel overwhelmed that feeling is vanishing as I make positive progress.”
Hey Nick…Thank you for sharing the 5 biggest mistakes….I have made all 5 many times.
I tapped for 30 consistent days for 10-15 minutes each time, and after the 30 days I didn’t see hardly any proof so I stopped doing it for the last 6 months. After reading these 5 biggest mistakes, I am ready to start over from this moment on with a whole fresh new start.
Thank you so much for all your consistent effort, it is most appreciated !!!
Best regards,
jimmy Lansing
I really enjoyed this article on “5 mistakes” I read many of the comments and they were very inspiring. I am just beginning to tap and will follow the script to bring more confidence and belief in the system to myself. Thank you very much
Thanks Nick! This is a Great article because I am still a beginner, I do all these mistakes.
I am a lazy man, i admit it,I appreciate all you have done to help us in this Tapping, i tried it once or twice and because there was no result i stopped and today i decided to start it all over again because i am positive it will do me good.God help me to continue and keep tapping until i get a positive response.These 5 points really helped me today so i will start immediately and keep you informed of the progress.Thank you Nick for your help,may God Bless You
Hi Jean. Just tap on the emotion or the pain that bothers you while thinking or speaking out loud: Let it go – it is time to let it go – it is safe to release it now – just let it go.
Keep tapping for as long it takes. Good luck 🙂
I still don’t understand……..am I supposed to keep tapping over and over again..? Is 5 mins enough? 10? 60? Tapping is simple enough, but I can’t figure out how to verbalize things.
Hi Nick,
I’m relatively new to tapping but am very keen to give it my best shot. I was just a little unsure about whether it is necessary to always include the 9 Gamut Procedure after you complete each tapping sequence, or whether you can simply continue on with another round of tapping on the basic energy points before finishing with the 9 Gamut points? Your advise on this would be great.
Thanks, Nikki.
I’m really wanting to apply more of tapping in my life. I have a fear of dentists and really have to treat my whole mouth very soon. I’ve been nursing my baby for the past 18 months and I feel quite guilty about it, fearing some bad bacteria goes in into her milk. I know it’s a very childish fear but really has been blocking my life in many levels. I’d love to know an effective tapping session for this. One experience I’d like to share. When I was on my third month of pregnancy I was treated very rudely by a young girl working at the checkin in Lisbon. I got so nervous I went inside the plane and couldn’t calm my self down. The flight attendant was really worried and trying to help but she couldn’t help me to stop my compulsive crying either. I was really under a hormonal storm! Then I remembered tapping. I wasn’t being able to focus but I just started to tap and tell my self I could calm myself down, all was ok. my baby needed me calm. I stopped to cry right away and calmed down finally. The flight attendant was quite impressed. Maybe would be a good technique for flight attendants to learn, so they could apply with nervous flyers or pregnant women like it was my case.
Hello Nick,
My cat Charlie suffers from bouts of lung congestion, which results in heart failure. When I’m on the computer, he sits next to me. While reading your site today, I noticed his heavy noisey breathing, so I tapped on the problem maybe 5 rounds. I was amazed!. The breathing became completely quite and he drifted off to sleep. Two weeks ago he was bleeding internally and near death. He hadn’t eaten or drank water in three days. I sat on the floor and tapped on his body, but then continued by proxy. Several hours later, he ate some soft cat food and drank a small amount of water. He did a complete turnaround and is recovering after the Vet sent him home to die. I have so many personal success stories about tapping. So greatfull that I found this healing method . Couldn’t do it without your help. Thank you. Sheila
Thank you for the reminder for #1,3,5. Have too many neg. issues to list. Hope you don’t get the immpression that EFT hasn’t been of benefit, it has helped in 2 areas: conquered fear of darkness and got over the feeling of rejection. In the fear area, consetrated on each round to a great degree, took me 4 rounds and 5 min to complete. for the rejection part, put a lot of emphasis on special meaning of some words, 3 rounds 2 mins.
Appreciate all input from you and all EFT believers.
Thank you so much Nick for sharing this article. I must have missed it the first time. Most helpful reminders for all of us – whether new to EFT or long-term practitioners. I will share this article with my students as well. Always appreciate your generocity, insight and willingness to share your learning with us. Many blessings, Becca
I like to connect EFT with something I am already doing. For example, tap in the shower. Tap before you exercise. Add it to anything you already do on a regular basis.
thank you so much for the list of errors. I seem to touch on each of them..This gives me direction and I will practice more. Bless You!
Hi Nick & Blog Members/Participants,
I’ve been sitting at my computer and belly laughing at some of these answers. hahahahahah and thanks for your personal insights they make you seem more real to me (whatever that really means) and I’m very grateful. 🙂
Anyway, I’ve had a “professional thearpist” that I’ve been working with and he has had me tap myself 30 times in each area and that’s what he does too. Now that I’ve been doing my own research and taking your blog site more seriously I’m freaked out that some say it should only be 5-7 times. Yah!
Please let me know your opinion/s and or anyone on the blog can answer as well.
Happy Holidays and thanks very much.
thank you so much for all that wonderful info. my no 1 mistake,,,NOT DOING IT and no 2 DOUBTING that it can work for ME! i took the bull by the horns a couple of weeks ago when my little dog had a tooth out and obviously the pain medication didn’t work for him. so after listening to him crying in pain all night i started tappin at 4am. ‘even though i DOUBT that eft can, help him, work for him, he’s still the best,,,, he’s in so much pain, distressed,,,, i tapped on myself for him and with about 5 mins he curled up and went to sleep content and hasn’t looked back. have to say that i was dumbfounded,,, in a lovely way 🙂 just reading this blog has renewed my determination to use eft for at least 15 mins every day,,, infinate gratitude nick
Thanks Nick
These hints are great. I will set my timer and I will write it down. I think a tapping journal
will be a good idea.
Thank you for this email. I see that I get distracted with related issues just as you described and now I know how to deal with them – write them down. I was becoming overwhelmed with what I thought was a lack of focus on the original issue, but now you have given me a method for what comes up and also I now see I was not tapping long enough.
Thank you . this was a very important email on top 5 mistakes.
Thank you for sharing tapping.
I’ve just had a very stressful meeting with a husband and wife client and I was feeling very low with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to cry and tell someone about it. I have no one to talk to – just to release my feelings. And then I remembered Jessica’s surrogate tapping which I downloaded in my desktop. I turned it on and followed thru. By the time it’s finished, even though I’m still a bit down, the stress has gone.
I am now turning to tapping more often. You and Jessica have very generous and gentle souls.
More power to both of you. I am very grateful!
Elizabeth
Thanks for a real good guidance!
I do not use EFT often enough yet but I feel confidence growing..