I asked this question to a friend of mine who is also a certified facilitator of The Work. The first thing she said was that she carries with her at all times a little book of situations. She is always looking for life to show her the next stressful situation for her to explore with The Work.
And when she finds one, she writes it down (time, place, what was going on) in her book. Many of these situations never get worked, but they are there as possible options whenever she wants to write a worksheet or do The Work.
When she is ready to do The Work, she just opens her little book of situations and writes a Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet.
She’s been doing The Work long enough to know the Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet by heart. Because she has the questions on the Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet memorized, she can write her Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet in her little notebook directly without using the actual worksheet.
She finds this very freeing sometimes, just to write the worksheet on the spot, even without working it. Later, she might question her line 1 statement, or a few more statements on her worksheet, but she doesn’t worry about questioning everything she wrote.
Sometimes, she works no statement at all from her worksheet. Just writing the worksheet when it comes up sometimes shifts things enough for her.
I tend to be quite thorough, very often spending a month working through all of the lines on my Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet. I like being thorough. I learn so much that way. But I also love the option to just write a bunch of worksheets without ever having to work them thoroughly, if at all.
Some people, like me, thrive on routine and having a regular niche time in their day to do The Work. Others love the freedom to do it whenever and wherever they want to, sometimes not doing it at all for a while.
There is no right way to do The Work because The Work is not a requirement in life. It is an option. How do you like to exercise this option in your life?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you make The Work an ongoing practice in your life. How do you actually do The Work? When do you do it? How often do you do it? What does it look like for you.
Another friend of mine says that he doesn’t like writing so much. He is exploring the idea of using the MarcoPolo app on his phone to send video notes to himself (via another person). You could even do The Work that way with a friend, just one snippet at a time. Very cool idea!
What are your ideas? Please share your experiences and ideas below in the comments.
Have a great week,
Todd
“There’s no suffering in the world; there’s only an uninvestigated story that leads you to believe it. There’s no suffering in the world that’s real. Isn’t that amazing! Do The Work and come to know it for yourself.” Byron Katie, Question Your Thinking, Change The World
Further reading: When Am I Going To Deal with My Emotions?
We are not meant to live stressed lives. Learn how to address the root cause of your stress and find your freedom again. Otherwise, stress will keep accumulating. Learn how to break the cycle of stress here.
