I can remember years ago when I first heard Byron Katie's words "There are no stressful events - only stressful thoughts."
I was not feeling too great at the time because of some difficult experiences I was
dealing with and thought "Rubbish! Things are certainly stressful in my life!"
I've since felt for myself how the experience of stress can change when we change the thoughts that we are having about it.
Say there's a day where my internet connection is not working and I need it for my client appointments. When I think "This is a DISASTER! My clients will be angry or disappointed, I feel so responsible not to let them down! What
will I DO?" - I feel incredibly anxious, stressed out, responsible for their feelings. I'll beat myself up, be angry with whatever it was that caused the mishap, I might snap at my husband and be unkind with someone who really doesn't deserve it, because of my own frustration.
If I could somehow change that thought to "My clients will NOT be angry or disappointed" and think the truer thought "I am angry or disappointed" or - if I was magically unable to think those
anxious thoughts above, my experience and feelings in the moment will change. My anxiety and stress would come down. I'd feel calmer, I wouldn't snap at innocent people or feel all that frustration.
The situation didn't change. My thoughts did. And therefore what I experience in my body.
If you'd like to learn a SIMPLE way to take an honest look at the thoughts that cause most of your stress, and have a step-by-step method to help
you do that, you might find this short Workshop of interest.
Have you heard of The Work of Byron Katie? She provides us with a step-by-step way to pause, and find those thoughts. And she gives us a PROFOUND new way of looking at them so that we feel empowered instead of like a victim of 'what happened TO me'.
Here's a link where you can book. for this affordable short (90 minute) online Introduction Workshop on Byron Katie's The Work, so that you can start using this method to reduce stress and suffering in your own life. We'll meet online on Monday 24 July at 4 pm SA time (10 am ET).
Get the details and book here.