The Work

A blog about me can't go any further without mentioning The Work. I'm trying to figure out the best way of explaining the Work, because it seems to mean different things for different people, so I think I'll go with the simplest.

The Work is a way of questioning your thoughts, ideas and concepts, particularly the ones that cause you stress. It allows you to examine whether these thoughts are actually true for you. You do this by writing down the thought, and then applying four questions to it:

Is that true?
How do I react when I believe that thought?
Who would I be without that thought?
Turn it around.

This is the only self-help technique that has ever worked for me, because it's the only one that doesn't tell me what's true, but lets me figure out what's true for me. It's my therapy and my constant companion, and in the short 6 months I've been doing it, it has transformed me. This may not be apparent on the outside, but as they say, it's the inside that counts.

Byron Katie is the lady who came up with The Work, and to give you an idea of it, here's a video of her facilitating it:



If you're interested in finding out more about the Work, search "Byron Katie" on YouTube, check out the website for The Work, and look at Byron Katie's blog. She has three books out, and they are well worth reading, but you don't need them to get started if you want to give it a go yourself. And if you do decide to give it a go, I guarantee you won't regret it.