The Work Is About Questioning Stressful Thoughts
When I first started The Work, I would just find a stressful thought and then question it. Then find another stressful thought and question it.
I still do The Work that way today. But my approach has also shifted a bit.
Now I Look for Stressful Situations First
Because I know that whenever I find a stressful situation, I will find all of my stressful thoughts within it.
The difference in this approach is subtle, but powerful, for me.
When I pick a stressful thought without reference to a situation, it can be more challenging to work. It is often less grounded, more general, more abstract, more intellectual.
When I pick a situation first, and then choose stressful thoughts to work from within that situation, it feels very grounded. I know exactly what I’m talking about. It feels more tangible as I work it. And the concrete details of the situation often give rise to unexpected findings as I do my work.
But Sometimes I Find an Unconnected Stressful Thought
Thoughts just pop in sometimes, and I still work them. But even these random stressful thoughts usually come from some specific trigger.
If I look back and ask myself, “When did this thought pop into my mind?” I often find that I was thinking about a specific situation that happened in the past, or that will happen in the future.
So I simply go into that remembered or imagined situation and write my stressful thoughts from there.
Babies Aren’t Born without a Mother
And stressful thoughts aren’t born without a stressful situation. If you want to get full access to the babies, it’s worth getting to know the mother.
Have a great week,
Todd
“The first step in The Work is to write down your judgments about any stressful situation in your life, past, present, or future—about a person you dislike or worry about, a situation with someone who angers or frightens or saddens you, or someone you’re ambivalent or confused about.” Byron Katie, Loving What Is
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