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Do You Have Difficulty with Turnarounds?

All the other birds can turn around. Why can’t I?

Finding Turnarounds Can be Challenging at First

If you’re new to The Work, you may find yourself scratching your head when it comes to turnarounds.

There are two parts to finding turnarounds:

1. Finding the technical turnarounds

2. Finding examples of how the turnarounds could be true

The Technical Part Is the First Thing to Master

And one of the best ways to master this skill of finding turnarounds is to see lots of examples.

Sometimes I will spend an hour with a new client just quizzing them to find turnarounds for non-charged statements. I use random statements from other client sessions. This allows my client to focus solely on the technical aspect.

By the end of an hour, or sometimes in less time, my client is very comfortable finding turnarounds for any statement.

Here’s an Example

If the original statement is, “He rejected me,” the standard turnarounds would be:

Turnaround to the self: I rejected me.
Turnaround to the other: I rejected him.
Turnaround to the opposite: He didn’t reject me. OR, He accepted me.

Another (non-standard) turnaround is:

He rejected me! Yay! How is that a good thing?

These Are the Technical Turnarounds

But the real juice of The Work comes from finding examples of these turnarounds. This is done by asking yourself, “Could this turnaround be as true, or truer, than the original statement?”

Sometimes the turnarounds are truer, sometimes they’re not. It up to you to find out for yourself in each situation.

Finding examples like this for the turnarounds is the second main part of doing the turnarounds.

This Second Part Must Be Done With Your Own Work

Finding genuine examples for the turnarounds is very personal. It can’t be taught. It’s a process of meditation that happens from the inside. And it matures over time with practice doing The Work.

It can also be helpful to listen to other people doing their work. I often get ideas for finding my own turnaround examples by listening to others. But there is no substitute for doing my own work.

Here’s a Way to Practice the Technical Side of Turnarounds

If you have trouble finding the actual turnarounds (technically), then I invite you to get a copy of a one-hour recording of a client and I practicing finding the technical turnarounds.

I give my client sample statements to turn around one after the other throughout the hour. And he finds the turnarounds. I keep quizzing him, and he gets more and more proficient at finding the turnarounds as he goes.

Also, his pace is not too fast, so you should have time to find your answers as he is finding his.

If you want to gain a working familiarity with the standard turnarounds, listening to this recording can help. Purchase a copy here for $9.99.

Have a great week,
Todd

“So you take your thought and turn it around. This means literally reversing it in as many ways as you can. You then ask yourself if these reversed versions seem as true as or truer than your original thought. They often do.” — Byron Katie, I Need Your Love, Is That True?

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Todd Smith has been doing The Work of Byron Katie on an almost daily basis since 2007. He is just as excited about this simple process of self-inquiry today as he was when he first came across it. He also enjoys writing about The Work, and training others in the subtleties of this meditative process. Join Todd for The Work 101 online course, private sessions, virtual retreats, and his ongoing Inquiry Circle group.