Bill Phillip's | Transformation

Very zen, Bill

Wow, well I’ve always prided myself on being a “positive thinker” yet while being aware of the words I use towards myself certainly can be opposite of that. What I was grateful to see is that my outlook on my family, loved ones and strangers is positive and loving and just wanting the best for them. This certainly shows progress for me. I truly am feeling like I am changing more on the inside and focusing more on love and seeing love around me even more. Now the hard part is having that loving positive outlook towards me. I was so surprised to see that I have a lot of guilt feelings inside, and then expect perfectionism of myself. It’s hard for me to face that I’ve been my biggest critic. I’m surrounded by unconditional love yet I’m the one not practicing it. Wow this is hard for me to acknowledge. So what I’m going to work on more is being gentle with myself. Not having the highest of expectations, and try to give myself credit along the way. In all honesty, I think this negative self talk is what is keeping me from reaching my healthy weight goals. I’m so grateful to realize this, thank you so very much! Seriously, something I’ve been “waiting o

Assignment #12b In the previous assignment I’ve completed about the power of words, yes, words have a very profound effect on us. They have the ability to create, destroy, rebuild, detract, negate and so on. How we use our words are important, as they do reflect what our inner character harbors, about our current outlook on life, relationships and so much more. I am a true believer that words have creative power. In fact, because of the positive power of words in keeping me encouraged along my journey, it has contributed towards my Transformation success today , of being over 70 pounds lighter. And, because of those positive words, I’ve maintained a successful Transformation since physically, while enormously strengthening the mind, and aligning character. Words can also stunt growth in anyone, if used obtusely. Back in 1997, mom and I argued daily. I was 20-21, and also getting over being dumped by someone back then I too thought was dear to me. When mom put me out of the house and I had to live at The YMCA downtown Wilmington in room 539 on Washington St. & Delaware Ave. , I didn’t feel like much of a man. While back then I did try to call my ex-girlfriend, I w

This was a hard challenge and I put it off for a long time. I`ve been very positive for such a long time now. I remember talking to my Mum when I was a teenager and really confused that she found it nearly impossible to speak using positive words. This was then and now so easy. I use words as a writer to bring and change imagery in the writing that I offer. However when I am happy I use incredibly positive words. When I am having one of my depressions – with mood swings – the words I use (self talk) are incredibly negative. A few days ago, after having two days of a very disturbing seminar, I was tired and had to get home. The journey was about two hours and I knew that I was sad and tired and if I started to use those self-doubt words I would enter the depression phase and I just didn`t allow it. I began to look for positive things and would speak them out to myself. The wonderful colours of the autumn leaves, the clean roads – even the bright colours of the street signs. But these positive words did stop me from going down the spiral of depression. I am now sick and using this time to listen to positive words on HayHouseRadio. This is so good. Words are so powerful … I get my kids to use words in a positive way. For those that know the Secret and the work from Esther and Abraham know the power of words in the Law of Attraction. I am whatever comes out of my mouth. I am my words and so very careful about the words I use. I love words.

I am very cogniscent or at least I thought I was about the words I use and the thoughts that enter my mind. This exercise really surprised me because although I truly feel I making a change internally I am still using words that are self destructive. Words like can't, not enough time, overwhelmed are mixed in with words like strong, successful, compassionate, good and getting better. So, there is obvious work that needs to be done internally and externally. I am finding that I am using more powerfully positive words than negative ones. The key is to be mindful and make the correction as it happens rather than letting those bad vibes sink in. Choosing prosperous thoughts rather than thoughts of limitation are a matter of choice. After doing this exercise it is my primary intention to really watch my words and my thoughts and feelings. Love, Dr. Dean

For some reason, this has been the hardest exercise for me to do so far. I need to contemplate that and seek to understand why. I've been stuck on this one for a long time. Today's the day. I'm going do the best I can with it and focus on progress rather than perfection.

My 24 hour review was harder than I thought. Every time I said I would start it, I started thinking of certain things.. thus not having it be off the cuff or just popping into my head. Then one day I just said.. you have nothing to loose and was surprised at what I found! Some of my words: hope, challenge, question, feel, endure, organize, clean, hope, excited, work, walk, move, good, peace, color. Most positive or inquisitive as that is the kind of thinker I am. I learned that it is okay to listen to myself now, as before my words were not as positive and detrimental to my getting through each day! Off I go to finish what I started! Thanks Bill.. Mary

Planting Seeds - sacrifice - commitment – powerless – enlightened – service – frustrated – energized – reflective – humbled – hopelessness. These are a list of 11 words that have been in my mind over the course of the last few months. Most are positive power words, there are 8 (in green) of them. Three (in red(italic)) are negative words. I tend to be as positive as I possibly can. The lessons that began when I started this program 3 months ago taught me so much about myself. They are very much reflected in the words I choose. I am planting seeds lately that will grow into good things. This is done at several levels. I do this in my physical transformation, by exercising daily. I do this with my business by doing things that are right and good that will be the foundation for a prosperous time in the future. Sacrifice is a good word because I am giving up of myself to help others and I am giving up things I did in the past knowing that there will be a great benefit to me now and in the future. I have a commitment that I made and I am keeping my end of the bargain. I have renewed my commitment to working out. I have found new ways to work out that I wouldn’t do in the past. I carry with me resistance bands that at any time I could get a full body workout in. I am a runner, and I committed myself to that when I signed up for Denver. Then, I said I am not a runner but that this is part of the program so- just do it. I did it and now I am a runner. Wow!!!! I am a runner, who would have thought. I committed myself to singing in the church choir again, and I love that aspect of my life. These commitments that I thought were unthinkable are becoming reality and enlightening me as to what I can do and what I become. My commitments go to being of service to others, both in my work environment, my home and family life as well as my church. With living clean for the first time in decades I feel energized like I never have been before. I am a new person, I am whole and there are no boundaries. This 3 month process has made me more reflective and humbled by the experience. I am in awe of how I have changed and how others have changed. I have offered suggestions to people and they have really thanked me, which confuses me because what I think is just logic sometimes is an ah-ha moment for them. That experience truly humbles me. This process is one in which reflection is so key. Reflection as to what you have done and what is working as well as reflecting on the process of others. As stated earlier I keep a very positive mindset. The economy of late has been brutal, but I am still grateful for the gifts, health, and life I have. At times I feel a sense of hopelessness in how the world is changing. I never before felt this way, and I hope I can change this by being more vocal about what I see as the wrong direction. In being active on this site, sometimes I feel a sense of being powerless and that frustrates me. There are situations that arise that I can’t help someone. I don’t have the answers. I don’t know what to say to help ease someone’s pain or frustration or problem. It seemed I always had the answers to problems. I could always fix something and give someone the solution to what they were dealing with. Maybe you can’t have the answer all the time and all you could do is offer your support, love and prayers. These negative words listed I can’t cross off because they are part of life and I just need to be who I am and everything will find its place. I will use these words to create a positive outcome and I will turn around negatives to positives. I guess it is called life and I am better prepared now for it.

I did assignment #12a - and it felt pretty great (and a little bit scary). that was 20 days ago. it took me three tries to monitor my thoughts/words - i think i've been in a state of denial/shock/disbelief/embarrassment by what i found when wrote my thoughts down. lots of words that i will move into my "unauthorized" pile. the phrase "hard on myself" pretty much sums up the list. words like: avoiding responsibility, overwhemed, ashamed, confused, disconnected, misunderstood, isolating, scattered, overwhelmed (that one showed up over and over), procrastinating, hard time focusing, frustrated, raw, hypersensitive, wanting to hide. the keeper words: of service, purposeful, simple works matter, staying focused feels good and is important, motivated, making a contribution, creative problem solving, relaxed, carefree, grateful, fortunate, enjoying solitude, open to love. this assignment has been like taking really bitter medicine- an uncomfortable process of "owning up" to my thoughts and how they are impacting my life. now that I am actually showing up for this assignment, i see why i've been struggling. because i've been trying to hide from the negative words- and they've been lurking in every corner. and in the process, i completely missed that i had lots of "keeper" words/thoughts that are awesome and generating positivity and goodness in my daily life. in this moment, i am seeing that i can face my "oogies" head on, and when i do, they shrink from being giant scary monsters to what they really are- unauthorized thoughts that are meant to be checked. which leaves a lot more room for all the good thoughts that are passing through my mind every day. Thank you BIll and Penny!!!!

Well, I allowed my self to be aware of my thoughts throughout the day. In doing so I discovered that I am very focused on how to help others- not control or manage them ( I had checked myself), and I was very focused on feeling like I was constantly in uphill battle climbing the "face" of the rock of life. WOW! Is that an eye opener and revelation to why I feel so tired! I would say I have reached a PIVOTAL point in my transformation. I GET IT KNOW!!!!! I started the transformation for physical reasons with some promised benefit of mental growth and awares! But I truly had no idea of what would happen. Honestly I wanted to be more fit for myself and my boyfriend, get rid of some of my sluggishness, and win some money- if that were possible- but unlikely. All this was enough of a motivating factor to give it all a go. I knew it wasn't supposed to be about the physique I might gain or the money I might receive, as when I scowered the website I kept hearing "but there's more." I knew I needed more. I wanted more. I was ready for "more." I would just have to trust the process to deliver me more. So I watched the videos, looked at others pictures, read blogs, wrote blogs, read my goals, intentions, worked my physical program, changed my eating habits. And I did not give up on myself when physical and emotional challenges arose. When my skin disorder became severely painful and it became necessary to restrict my exercise and diet away from "the plan", or as the process of my grieving and mourning has limited my energy and motivation sporadically for weeks on end, I have not given up. I am not judging myself harshly. I even more intently tie every physical exercise to my mental and emotional process. Through out the day I hold in my mind I can do this physical challenge, trust the process, and come out, somehow, different in the end. As I look back and see even now, I realize that my physical and emotional self had become "disharmonious." I have realized I have been locked in an inner house that is dimly lit. I have been meandering about from room to room held their by the illusion I was going somewhere and actually making progress to my desire destination. When in truth I was just moving from one room to another. I was weaving about the house, going in circles, and just changing my scenery. I was caught in a S.N.A.F.U.! Situation normal. All fogged up! I was existing in my own reality cut-off within myself and from the outside world. How did that happen?! I was an athlete. I used to be a finely tuned machine that knew that exceptional performance required physical, emotional, and mental focus, and harmony! Regardless, I through the process of following the program of "Transformation", had begun and still am, connecting the "my moving parts of my machine" together again. I am connecting my mind/thoughts and emotions to my physical and spiritual self again. I must admit I am a bit anxious because I do feel like I AM leaving something comfortable behind. But I must focus and observe that I AM NOT leaving myself behind! What am I leaving behind? I am leaving that fog and haze- numbed awareness where I meander through life half aware of my surroundings beyond my fingertips. What am I taking with me? I am taking all of me. Am I leaving behind anything else? Yes, I am leaving behind the binding ropes of apathy, fear, resentment, and tolerance for the mediocre. What am I doing? I am Transforming with a capital "T." How am I doing it? I am doing it one moment at time!

My words are more positive now. Can, will, do, love, give, wonderful, phenomenal, great, grateful, achievement. I still found a fear...irrational but my thoughts are genuinely positive.

My mind balked at this exercise, so that must mean it was one I REALLY needed, right? I've tried for years to change my thinking around from negative to positive and it's been a slow process. This exercise just shows that I'm not where I want to be yet, but getting closer each day. Thanks, Bill, for giving us one of the biggest keys to changing our lives, this assignment! Diane

I forgot to post this assignment. This was a hard thing for me to do. I don't reflect on myself when I am home I just do what I have to do enjoy the piece and quite and play on the computer or at least I didn't go that deep.. When I tried this assignment I was sick so any thought that came out was get out of me. Go away. I want to get back to normal. UGh!!! I took some words today and wrote them down at the moment they were there and one of them was after my workout. Fired up, ready for more, need another challenge, I need to get that time shorter. So I guess that could be somewhat Negative because I didn't get the task done as quick as I wanted. Then I went right into energy, food, feed my body. So every thing is reflected on what is going on in that moment. right now as I am writing this assignment my mind just went straight to "I did it". I finished the assignments to the best of my ability and learned a lot about myself in the process. What a great feeling. Now I am off to finsih what I have started adn complete my transformation and I am not rushing it and now know that it will al take time but My main goal is to help others here on this site stay motivation and not letting them give up so quickly. that is what we are here for. There are lots of deserving people in our family that are well desrving of your great reward. I have gotten my reward a whole new me!!

The last Challenge I really didn't do this one...however, I have come so far on these assignments...really digging deep and DOING them! I kept this log yesterday and found out my thoughts are focused almost entirely on my stomach. I am constantly thinking about my fat tummy, my fat roll, my muffin top waist. I am constantly touching my stomach to see if if feels flat or fat. Here are a few things I told myself throughout the day..."flatter tummy-I'm doingit-It's possible to look amazing by Week 18. My gut is so FAT-sickening-I hate it. I just finished a strength workout and I'll never look like those amazing "after" photos on T.com-I workout and still look like flab and jelly. My stomach is growing fatter. Feeling confident today-all dressed up-feel good-eating healthy-I am doing this." This kind of talk went on all day. I was constantly aware of my stomach. CONSTANTLY!!!

Once again, I struggle with needing to do things “right.” This assignment is no different. I have spent a lot of energy, over the course of my life, trying to avoid criticism. I often believed that if I could do things “correctly,” then I could somehow avoid the pending barrage of criticism surely headed my way. That pattern never really worked, but I kept trying. Now that I am (really!) aware of it, I am making every effort to change it by offering myself the grace and forgiveness I know I need, and by choosing to focus on progress (not perfection). I know I will keep uncovering things along the way, processing them, and releasing them. The willingness to take an honest look at the hurt little girl inside of me is part of that ongoing process. I believe there’s more “stuff” in there than I even realize. I became involved with a group of people in 1995 called Worldwide Dreambuilders. It is a leadership training organization, associated with a business my husband and I were beginning to build. In this organization, there are amazing and capable mentors available to anyone who wishes to avail themselves of the personal growth opportunity. I was eager for the life and business coaching, readily took the help, and studied everything I could get my hands on. I was exposed to a great list of books, daily attitude and leadership CDs, and regular meetings where I could associate with some incredible like-minded people. It was in this organization, and among these people, that I learned the most about the power of words. They taught simple principles, like “don’t pass along negative words.” I learned to call my “problems” by the new name “challenges.” In doing so, I began finding the solutions, which were simply waiting to be discovered. I let go of the phrase “I can’t,” (which I have never accepted anyway). I learned to speak what I want in my life, not what I don’t want. I learned about the creative power of positive words, and the healing power of grace offered through kind and compassionate words. The power of the spoken word was one of three main principles taught in this organization, and I have tried to apply what I have learned. While I have been able to act on the lessons learned there, I haven’t truly dug down deeply enough to excise the hurt little girl inside. I have just run from the pain, at the deepest level. This child felt the harsh reality of the power of negative words. While it is said that “sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me,” I vehemently disagree. It is my opinion that thoughtless, harsh, and critical words can wound a person far worse than any sticks or stones can. Given their innocence, coupled with their inability to leave or significantly alter their environment, a child simply accepts and believes how the adults around define the child. I was told some pretty hurtful things by my well-meaning father. At five, six, ten, or twelve years old, I was not able to choose my association, and had to stand there and listen to it. I believed it. After all, Dad was the main authority in my life. He must “know” things, right? While I can intellectually understand that he was very young himself, under tremendous pressure, and parenting the way he had been taught...and while I can forgive him for what he did...I have had some difficulty getting rid of the “words” on the inside of me. This exercise helps me identify some of those words, which still -- amazingly -- linger, after all these years. The inconsistency of the strong and powerful words with the hurtful and negative words confuses me. Why such variety? Yet, it is what it is. I know this can change, with God’s help and in His time. I did a 24-hour word review, and here it is: eager (when preparing for a run); sacred (noticing the still quiet of the dawning day); brave (running alone, in a potentially challenging area of town); alone (thinking about parenting three kids); tired (thinking about all I have to do); strong (moving some things in the house); lonely (thinking about my relationship with my husband); capable (amazed that I am doing this transformation challenge!); overwhelmed (end of the day - so much stuff left undone); angry (tired of some of the same issues which are still unresolved in my marriage); accountable (able to count on myself); hopeful (believing I am on the right path); sad (discouraged); grateful (for my new friends and my new life).... So, that was interesting. Some of the words are filled with hope and energy (“soul voltage”), and others weigh heavily on the page. Very interesting stuff. The question I now have is what to do with the negative words, feelings, and stuff. Let it go, let it go, let it go. Release. Release. Release. But...how? Sometimes I think, “If I just don’t speak those words, I will not feel that way on the inside.” This exercise PROVES that I still have much to learn! It’s there...on the inside! While I have been watching what I have been speaking for nearly 15 years (to the best of my ability), that’s not enough! I have learned to not SAY it. But, apparently, the junk is still in there! Looks like the inside still needs word changes, as well! Amazing. This seemingly insignificant exercise has been one of the most powerful ones yet. I look forward to continuing this journey. I am learning SO MUCH!!!! I guess I will take my brave, confident self, and escort that frightened little girl back to her childhood. It is there we will have a talk with that young man who so carelessly used such harsh words. My adult self will stick up for and defend that scared little child. Then, together, we will offer grace to the father who also had a wounded little child inside of him.

I love this assignment; there is some followup to it, but it is so eye-opening. Things have sure changed since my last assignment 12b. Negative self-talk and commentary has gone by the way-side for the most part, but still sneaks in on a lower-level day :) I am not always positive, however. I find that I do a lot of "I've got to...", which can be self-interpretted to mean "There's a lot of work to do". This can bring on a feeling of not being content with myself so I am learning (as a result of this program) to do what I can and the rest will come. Many of my "I've got to's" are mini-projects that cannot be fixed all at once. It's okay, I can be happy while I am making changes, and I can be content to know that the creative, goal oriented side of me has job security. It will all happen in due time. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy what I've got and how far I have come today.

This exercise was eye-opening. The words coming from my mouth have been progressively more positive as time goes by.There are still bouts of anger and impatience but they seem to be lessening. The real news is that what I am thinking at any given time is usually something based in fear, anxiety, uncertainty, guilt. Yikes. Some of this may be the fact that I feel so blessed yet am not pulling my weight right now in life. In a career transition (like millions of others) I'm not investing anywhere near the effort needed because I'm in a deep seated comfort zone. We all know the evils of that. I knew this was a problem, I just did not realize that it was the background noise in my mind all day long. Because of these negative feelings I can't really enjoy the here and now sensing I'm not putting out that effort I need to. The workouts and eating are pretty good and I'm getting results. This is despite a river of bad thoughts. I know what I need to do.

I asked my husband to monitor my words and we compared lists to discover: my language is more positive now than when I did this assignment during Round 1. My positive language tends to be focused outward meaning that I use positive language with others and about others. My negative language is limited mainly to the behavior of my cat’s. The word “can’t” did not come up even once!!! The word “but” came up several times. My husband decided to record the number of times I gave him “the look” which he said is a substitute for my scolding him!!! I believe that through my reading I am learning positive and powerful words. I feel better speaking positively as a result. I also believe that starting my new business has helped me craft positive language because I am deeply connected to helping others and I can’t help if I am negative. Positive language is easy for me whereas after doing this assignment during Round 1 I was consciously selecting positive words; now it just happens! --Vickib

I really liked this assignment! This summer I took a comparitive religion course in which we studied a lot about both hinduism and taoism, in these religions it is very important to be aware of all of your thoughts and actions in order to create a balance in your life and to promote wellness. I found these theories to be very intresting and started to practice them in my everyday life, since doing this my life seems to flow so much easier, my energy levels have increased. The power of thought and positive energy is truly an amazing thing.

Hi Bill I am ready for this next assignment i am sure it will be a eye opener and a healing process. Thanks Bill

okay, i have my notebook ready with "24 hour word review" written on the top...it is early morning so i can have a full day at this...i will post my results/thoughts late tonight or tomorrow...keep up the good work everyone!!!

I'm glad this is one of the later exercises. When I began the Transformation, my mind raced. There was much negative self talk. The words in my mind were negative, unedifying and derogatory. Now, however, while life isn't perfect, I am much more in control. My mind is quiet and at peace most of the day. I'm able to catch myself before I descend into the thoughts that have caused me so much distress for so many years. I'll keep my notebook with me for the next 24 hours but while this would have been a nightmare 13-1/2 weeks ago, I suspect it will now be relatively uneventful. I'm so very happy!!!!!!!

I already know where this is going...lol

this was an eye opener. my self-talk is still too negative for my liking. i will make an effort everyday to change this. thanks for this assignment! :)

Well after doing this assignment I have realized that my self talk is a lot better than I thought. I still have negative thoughts, but so much of the time I can quickly correct those thoughts/feelings. If I start to think that I'm not doing a good enough job on this or that, or not seeing the desired results I think I should be seeing, I immediatly look for progress. I've made a lot so far. Usually it's in small doses, but none the less I'm still moving forward. I attribute this better more positive mindset to all the assignments I have done so far. I'm so much more aware of where my thoughts are, and that I need to love, and take care of myself. Not tear myself down. Alisha (:

After doing this assignment I have come to realize that I am improving in many ways. I no longer am filling my head with negative self talk...in it's place are empowering thoughts. I have noticed myself doing alot of " I can do this", and "great job" instead of belittling myself all the time. I feel fantastic inside. One of the things that still comes up is anger and finding a way to deal with that feeling more effectively. Progressing nicely here.

The only thing I catch myself doing is sometimes hesitating on starting my work out in the morning. I will come up with "reason" to not go, or put off till later. Then I stop the hesitating, and go. I've been paying close attention, and have been surprised at the lack of negativity going on in my head. Guess this stuff is working. Carmen

I have been trying really hard to get honest with myself in this transformation process. I made a decision to pursue optimal physical, emotional and spiritual well-being and I know brutal honesty is required to get there. This assignment was an excellent tool for helping me to take a good, hard, honest look at myself. I chose today for the word review because I was invited to give my story at OA tonight and I thought it would be a good day to track for any insecurities as I gathered my thoughts for the presentation throughout the day. The power words that I would like to continue using are: ACCOUNTABLE; BLESSED; LOVE; APPRECIATE; FUN; EXCITED; SERVE; EXCELLENCE; BELIEVE; FRIENDS; IMPROVING; and PRAY. The main word that I need to drop from vocabulary is “don’t.” Today, I used the phrases: “don’t think, “don’t want” and “don’t know” in ways that were not constructive. The word “tired” came up twice and the third time I recorded it as “fatigued.” That indicates that I was really dwelling on being tired which probably made me feel worse as the day went on. Nonetheless, its reappearance throughout the day also can serve as a wake up call. I will consult my physician if I am still tired on a regular basis next week. It may the virus I had two weeks ago lingering or I may be pushing my training for Denver a bit hard. Christine

Words,well it depends on what i am doing.If i am happy doing fine they were,great job,awsome work,super shape,great work out,your in the zone doug,place to be.Now if i was botheredor in a mood,it was time to give up,its easer to have a smoke,come on doug.Don't go to the gym,have some chips,pop.You don't have to excersise,take it easy,your wasting your time Well there just words,i do like the positive ones more. :)

Honestly - I picked the WRONG day to start this. My son, whi just turned 2 years old, was clingy and whiney and cried most of the day. He was feeling just fine but wanted my attention AND my lap, arms, everything the entire day. I felt drained and exhausted and decided to NOT complete this part of the assignment until the next day. So - I started again and the day was more "normal" The words I used were pretty positive for the most part. My mind traveled a lot to my dying friend and I realize just how blessed I am to be alive and how I need to not sweat the small stuff, enjoy even the smallest things life has to offer and enjoy this journey we are all on. I had positive phrasing as "I am blessed!" and "I can do this!" A couple times I was frustrated and vented just a bit - those weren't too helpful, but they were very few compared to my feelings the entire day. Mostly, I was focused on what I can and could do and less focused on the trials and frustrations that used to plague my days. One entry was "I want to look like Leslie Groft - Is that even possible?" and I realized my wolves were battling. "I can do hard things!" - her mantra, immediately kicked into my brain. She is such an inspiration! I want to train my mind to think positive and to be more optimistic - it is working, but I know I have a long ways to go! Thanks for this assignment. I will be more conscious of how my thoughts project into my actions every day! Have I said yet how much I love it here? If not... "I love it here!"

Word power assignment Well this assignment unfortunately caught me with more negatives, than I would have liked to find in 24 hours. I am very aware of it. I even (for years) start each morning thanking God for waking me to another day, and truly am grateful. Somehow, though, this has been a real test of me these past few weeks. I guess this assignment will help me reinforce working harder on the positives, and stifling the negatives. I caught me in the negative thought dwelling area of the past that I’m trying very hard to eliminate. Blue are the good highlighted words “I’m doing better!” “thank you God for today” “I did it!” “I love you” “ I’m so proud of you!”(etc) that work for me. Brown are the highlighted words “I can’t” “I’ve had it” “I give up “ “I won’t” (etc)that I need to work on eliminating. -Terri

This assignment took me back to my beginnings with my new awareness of speaking "life" and "death". Holy Spirit reminded me of when it all began for me, and how He "began AGAIN" with me within the past 10 months or so. But, this assignment is really nailing it all down for me again -- from the inside out -- especially with my thoughts, and even the FEELINGS (unformed thoughts) that I allow inside. What I thought was going to be a quick and simple abbreviated text representative of this assignment turned into a short chapter from the book of my life! But, I was glad to re-visit the very first time Holy Spirit convicted me and convinced me of the power of my words -- and my unquestionable accountability to HIM for every word I speak. . . . . . . . :::::::::::::: I shared my experience(s) with this in #12B of my ASSIGNMENT Blog.

I know I have more negatives than positives! I am a very caring person and I try to be good and helpful to others but I lack in being good to myself! I truly believe this is because of my horific past experiences yet I do not blame anyone it is just a large cahos of diferent events piled up or like domino's! Some of this comes from poor decisions I've made in the past as well (self inflicted)! I want to lead a better life yet I'm not very good at making these changes....! I have asked God for help - I realize that I am responsible for the "foot work"! I am greatful for my life and I want to prove it to MYSELF first then to my parents who adopted me and have put so much love and faith in me!! Last but not least my beautiful teenage daughter who looks up to me! I will write in my journal...I just wanted to share my feelings after I read this assignment...! Thanks, ang.

I've really been trying to start my day from the very beginning by telling myself what a wonderful day it is. I realize when I do this, my day is better. My thoughts are more positive and I have more joy and more patience for myself and others. It doesn't mean that I don't have negativity, but it's much less than it used to be. Some positive thoughts this day: I expressed gratitude for a good night's sleep (sleeping has been an issue for me lately), I went through positive affirmations. I am healthy, I am strong, I am happy, I have abundance, I have a lot of love to offer. I did the happy dance when my son said he was coming to visit for a week. I am doing this! Good workout, I feel good, I am content. Some negative....Gah, idiot (speaking to myself), leave me alone, Come on people...can ya at least go the freakin speed limit? Get out of my way. This was a great exercise, amazing all the thoughts we have going through our minds on a constant basis.

Whewww. This is not the week for this assignment for this girl. I have had a resentment go round and round in my head. (This is a lesson in life I am having to learn from - again.) But then again, it is my truth sometimes in life - the painful truth that I have to learn to shut off so I can move forward. Tracking the words associated with the difficult days in my life will be quite interesting. I am sure there will be good words that when associated with feeling good (feeling God) the words may pop into my head when I really need them. Ok - I'll get the notebook in hand tomorrow! Thanks Bill! LPJ, Cat

My negative self talk has been a huge problem for a long time, it has out weighed my positive. But I am changing that and I will not give into the negative talk....This is something I will and am working on daily ...it is that important. I think self love is the most amazing give we can give to ourselves. On the positive, my favorites are I am Healed and I am a Champion, I have them on my wall in my gym in huge letters!!!!!

The words "I am ..." are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you're claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you. - A. L. Kitselman Interesting assignment. Makes me appreciate how much I "talk" to myself everyday, and the importance of making it good. Limiting words/thoughts: 1. Not making progress fast enough. 2. Squiggies are still visible. Hate squiggies...also known as bloobs, splooge, and woobles. These are technical terms many of you may be familiar with. :) 3. Losing my mojo? 4. Frustrated. I am not a patient person. Need to work on being more patient. Why aren't I getting more patient faster? 5. Smart but lack direction. Empowering words: 1. Making progress. 2. Getting stronger. 3. Inspiring friends to start exercising. 4. Feel lighter in body and spirit. 5. Not bad for 47. This is just a sampling. My general impression is that I tend to be at about a 70/30 ratio of good to bad self talk. So that's not too bad, but definitely needs improving. I think I tend to be a better cheerleader for others than I am for myself. So here goes... Give me a G - G! Give me an A - A! Give me a Y - Y! Give me an E - E! What have you got? A person ready to work a little harder to be a little better. A person ready to focus on the positive and "scratch out" the negative. A person ready to be the change! I CAN DO HARD THINGS!!!!! Gaye

Power of Words: 24 Hour Word Review This is crazy Come on Seriously Stop it Knock it off These boys are driving me crazy I can't handle this Be quiet I am stressed...I have to get out of here I can't take it anymore I love you Good job Thank you You're a good girl He is so cute We can do this...it will be alright Have fun Be good Green are words that work for me. Red are words that do not work for me and I want to eliminate.

anxious, determined, fearful, " can i really get my body fat to 7%", i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", strength, power

REALLY liked this one! I've enjoyed writing for most of my life. I'm fairly practiced at settling in and letting the words come to me. I've written hundreds of poems over the years, and typically that's what I do. Focus, and just let the words come. What's interesting is that the vast majority of that work is actually quite dark. It's been several months since I've penned a poem like that, so this exercise was the first time in a while that I've sat and let the words come, and I was/am so elated at how positive they are! I had 130 positive and 31 negative, and the negatives were not real bad (things like rushed, anxious, time, etc). I've also noticed through this transformation how my own vocabulary is changing, most notably is that I curse far less than I used to. Great exercise! Great insight!

great assighnment my insight voices some times have negativiy inside of me but before i bring them out and announce them i try to find how i can turn them in to positive thoughts

ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE: What's this doing here? AGAIN? Why can't everyone be this great? Why can't everything be this easy? You gotta be kidding me? Not this again! I can't keep doing this! ON THE POSITIVE SIDE: Everyone CAN be this GOOD! I DO have the POWER! One day IT WILL always be this GOOD! God is GREAT! Thank you Lord for the blessings in my life! AMEN.....Warm, caring hugs from California...Demi

Assignment # 12b One of the most powerful negative words I found myself using the past couple of days over and over again is “stupid”. Everything that goes wrong, the people who hold me up, everything that I find frustrating is “stupid”. This assignment was also great for the fact that it made me realize how my thinking and mentality is still so negative. And the little voice inside my head is quite powerful and is just full of negative energy. I can’t narrow it down to exact words but I narrowed it down to many circumstances where I come out of a situation being negative. Especially at work. I love my job and don’t want to change. However, being in a small office with a lot of “chit chat” takes a toll somedays and I find it hard not be involved sometimes no matter how hard I try. But, the reason I find myself involved is because I care about my co-workers and their well being. Sometimes it’s hard to stand by and watch bad things happen. Or to watch someone receive special treatment while others are treated so poorly. I’ve just got to learn to block out the negative and look into the positive of every situation. But, now that I am so much more aware, it is certainly something I am going to be watching and listening for and make sure I do my absolute best to resolve to be more positive. I also noticed on a more positive note, I’ve made leaps and bounds from where I started in February. I am proud of the person I have become and can’t wait to see the positive changes after Round 2.

I wish I would have... It’s not possible…. Why does this always happen to me…. Why can’t it be this way… are all phrases that I found myself using throughout the day. These phrases and thoughts need to be replaced by not holding back and following my dreams, believing that anything is possible if I put my mind, body, and soul behind it, and truly believing that I can make it any way I choose to. It was truly surprising to me to see just how pessimistic my thoughts are. This is something I wouldn’t have noticed unless I did this assignment.

Bill, how old are you??? your wisdom and insight to transorming us is amazing. i tought wisdom came with age!! but I know yours is directly from God...awesome...This assignment surprised me...I realized i tend to use these common words ALOT: I need to, I have to,I, I, YUCK...I don't want to focus so much on me but on other people...I will change these words to...I get to, I am lucky to, I want to, and what can I do for you...THANKS for the eye opener. Renee'

It's funny how God works. All day I was trying to pay attention to what was going on in my mind, both the positive and negative. At the end of the day I was listening to a woman speak and this is a summary of what she said: Negative thoughts are like junk food, if you chew on them all day you are going to end up feeling lousy. On the other hand, positive thoughts are like healthy foods, if you feed on them all day you will end up feeling happy, peaceful and full of energy. Our thoughts effect us just like the food we put into our body effects us, it is all tied together. You can't have a happy and peaceful life unless what goes into your mouth, as well as your mind, is healthy. I seem to be hearing this lesson a great deal lately, God is really wanting me to get this message! It is time for me to wake up and take control of what I choose to spend my time thinking about. Here are some of the negative thoughts that I noticed entering my mind today: Why?? What if?? It is so frustrating! What should I do? What does she think? I am not doing enough as her mother. I've got so much to do. How are we going to do this? I'm tired. There is not enough time. Here are some of the positive thoughts I noticed entering my mind today: I have faith. I feel confident. That turned out great. I can do this. Everything always works out. I have a great husband. I accomplished a lot in a day. I feel blessed. Just breathe, he always takes care of you. I have amazing kids. Hannah will be just fine, just trust. It is amazing how when something bothers me and I allow myself to dwell in it, it suddenly compounds over and over again. If something bothers me and I combat it with positve thoughts and words it quickly does not seem so bad. I just have to remind myself over and over that it is a choice. Why would I ever choose to make things worse? It seems so simple when I think about it that way. I want a peaceful mind. I want it to be full of positive, encouraging and loving thoughts. I choose light over darkness :).

ASSIGNMENT # 12-b Before I get fully into Assignment # 12-b, I must admit something very strange happening to me in this Round 1 Transformation on T. Wherever I am in this Round, seems to perfectly allign with where I am supposed to be. No more, no less. Just "present-perfect"....as I said in my last blog. The other day, I read one of my favorite verses, "Be still and know that I am God." It fit perfectly for the moment. I just came in from our back porch swing where I watched a lighting storm. As I sat there, I noticed the birds in the background singing (or maybe they were calling their chippies in to take cover) and I felt a quiet peaceful stillness all around me as the sky grew dark and the light show flashed in the sky in front of my eyes. I was thinking that,"It's been a long time since I've been in this place." Somewhere in my childhood, where all the neighborhood kids would sit on the hot sidewalk in the innocence of our youth, talking about nothing, way past bedtime, exhausted from a full day of playing cops n' robbers, hopscotch, swimming in the heat, or all of the above. It was such a good time. A very deep-felt time impressed on my heart, that I would recall those nights on a night like tonight, some 30 or 40 years later. It was a time where there were no pressures, and no worries; a time when I wasn't trying to "be" someone I wasn't, because I was completely satisfied at that perfect place where I was sitting. Just like tonight. Maybe it is because my boys (now on the verge on becoming 13 and 10) are in that "place", too, as I watch them ride their bikes with their friends and sit on the sidewalk and talk about nothing for hours on end. So I realized, as I wrote to one of my friends on T today, that I am what people describe as "happy" - on the inside. You can't really see my "happy-insides", but the kind of "happy" I am feeling, maybe would be best called "joy". What I am feeling is not based on the way I look, or my circumstances, because an honest critique of my outer "form" is really not much different (to me) than when I started Round 1 back on February 13, 2009. Some people would probably be "not happy" about that part of my Transformation, if they were me, but in any case, I am "happy". I know that my outer transformation will happen in God's time...and it is happening, but much more slowly than I expected on Day 1. Every time I try to push the envelope more than I should, I begin to get off balance, and I risk my recovery from sugar addiction, which is the basis for my new-found peace-of-mind. I wouldn't trade my abstinence for the world, because my life is so much different now, in such a short time. To me, 90 days is a blink, a breath, and a moment in the vast sea of days in years, and decades, that I've been struggling to overcome this addiction. I don't take what God has given me for granted, because it is so fragile. RECOVERY to me is one of those strange things now, where I don't "fear the future", but I embrace it, and protect it. Monday I celebrated Memorial Day and 90 days of abstinence from sugar and alcohol. I worked on Assignment # 12-b over the weekend, and the most prominent thing I noticed, was how I kept telling myself how I felt, over and over and over. Like a broken record. I'm tired. I'm so tired. I'm exhausted. I need a nap. No wonder I'm tired! Then on Sunday I read, "Be still and know that I am God." So I did...and I started listening more closely to what God had to say. So instead of filling my mind with the complaint box, telling myself "I'm tired", I started asking, "Lord, what do you want me to do today?" As long as I'm listening to His voice, and I'm still, I can follow His lead. He might say "Rest"...or, "You need to call Mom and Dad", or "spend time with Joe and the boys..." or "Just take a walk, you'll feel better after you do". In saying all of this, I have also decided NOT to overlap rounds (thankfully Bill extended the start date for Round 2), so I think that it would be best for me to finish Round 1 as planned on June 18th, and start Round 2 on Friday, June 19th. :) Laurah

limiting words: lazy,old,messy, stressed, pain,overwhelmed, anxious and mostly alone. power words: blessed,future goals, happy, lucky, mostly connected and love to/for everyone and everything in the universe

This is good!! Even though I'm feeling more peace in my life within my own skin... what a wonderful feeling to see the changes taking place. As I completed this assignment, I realized how "less" I talk negative thoughts to myself and how much more I trust God and give up that control to create safe places for myself (which never worked by the way). Looking over my list of positives and negatives, yes, I still had some negative words and thought processes, but what I noticed is that I am quickly shutting them down before they take hold. Mostly what gets me in trouble are those situations that I allow to make me feel that I am "not important"... that is when I noticed the control and anger wanting to set in. Each and every day, I see that my thoughts are more consumed with "keeping my my shut" until my emotions settle. Now I'm concentrating on behaviors and thoughts such as prayer, counting my blessings, rather have God in control then self, refusing to react and instead see things clearer and act when appropriate, giving up my judgments, serving, letting go, excitement, trusting and sharing my heart instead of my anger. Because of this transformation and my own willingness to grow spiritually, I'm feeling so good and I so much more productive as well as restful. I'm not wasting my time on yuck anymore... How can God work if I'm not even willing to let Him, so He is in charge more today then yesterday and even when I fall, He picks me up and gently helps me regroup without shame and guilt!!! This assignment was AWESOME and I'm thankful for CHANGE!!!

Transformation Exercise #12b The Awesome Power of Words At first this assignment was hard. But as I wrote it things became much clearer. My thoughts seem to fall into a few categories. What has happened in the past. Where I am now and in the future. What has happened in the past. Fear from being bullied. Loneliness for having to stand on my own without a father around. Despair because I did not know how to stand up for myself. Disappointment because I could have done better. Fear to excel because I would be noticed. Warmth, love, cared for because I have such a great mother, grandfather, and grandmother. Strength because I survived. Reassurance because I knew my father loved me. Security because I knew I always had a home. Where I am now. Fear of not being all I can be. Bummed because I don't have a solid career yet. Left out because I am not in a relationship now. Stoked because I am making great changes. Happy because I have taken control of my decisions. Blessed that I have a beautiful supportive family. Energetic because my body has been restored. Thankful because I eat six meals a day, have a roof over my head, and I am able to work out again. Enlightened by my new journey. Fearless because the more I put myself out there the more I excel. Confident because I know all I have to do is progress and not be perfect. Relieved because I am no longer trying to please everyone. Empowered because I have become a positive influence on the people I love and beyond. Writing this assignment I have realized that my negatives are diminishing. They were in fact challenges that have made me stronger. To put it in perspective, I was just a my nephews graduation last night. It was truly inspiring! He is severely delayed and cannot take care of himself much less talk. His class mates too have severe challenges. They have persevered though. Proud of what they have achieved. Happy to be graduates!!! My nephew smiles at me every time I see him. He will walk up to me, touch me on the shoulder, and then runs off. He is pure love. He is pure joy. I no longer feel sorry for myself. How could I. I am so blessed. So when these negative thoughts arise, they no longer apply to me. I am pure love. I am pure joy. Just like my nephew:)

Thanks, to everyone in T.Com. for giving me the surport that I need. Well I have to say these assignments are made to make you think about yourself .When words aret on paper it does make it real ! Looking back @ where I was before doing Transformations I can't belive how far I've came in short time. The words that came to me where Healthy,Energtic,InnerPeace,Confident,Slimmer, Alert,Positve,Happy,Nicer,Glow,Pride & powerful. I'm looking forward with a brighter outlook @ life.

Assignment 12-b was truly challenging. I caught myself thinking on this often through the week, and for the most part I had nothing but powerful, positive thoughts. If faced with adversity or if I had a negative thought or word enter my head I dealt with it. I wanted to make sure that I had truly reached a point where I had grown and learned from my Transformation, and didn’t want to go thru the rest of it with any doubt that I missed a growing opportunity along the way. I reviewed my checklist several times and deleted a few that I felt weren’t 100% genuine…perhaps I still have more to learn in order to reach the capacity of being and living those specific bold and powerful words. The keepers follow, and I embrace these in progress, clarity, and progression: Strong, powerful, steadfast, fit, loving, caring, proactive, forward thinking, compassionate, trustworthy, philanthropic, courageous.

Sorry I went thru all the positive and negative words and put p in pink and N in Yellow but it didn't come out when I copied and pasted it however the words I wanted to cross out did This was my hardest assingment but very rewarding when I was finished and saw the end results. My pattern looks like its I change moods I extremely happy when workouting, or at work or even doing house chores and when around my kids or grandkids However I get disapointed quickly and when I worry I really dwell over it and stay upset . its hard for me to just let something run it's course In your journal or notebook, title a page "24-Hour Word Review." What you’re going to do is keep that journal with you for one day in the week ahead, and every hour or so, you’ll open it up, grab your pen and quickly write down words that you’re holding in mind. In your journal or notebook, title a page "24-Hour Word Review." What you’re going to do is keep that journal with you for one day in the week ahead, and every hour or so, you’ll open it up, grab your pen and quickly write down words that you’re holding in mind. At the end of the day, give yourself about 15 minutes and go back through your pages, and with two different colored pens or highlighters indicate the positive power words with one color, and mark the limiting or negative words with the other. Which words are working for you? Are there some power words you want to speak and write even more often? And, are there words you see that are working against you? If so, take a pen and cross them out to symbolically indicate that they are "unauthorized." The 24-Hour Word Review Tuesday May 5, 2009 – Wednesday May 6, 2009 Positive / Negative Tuesday night May 5, 2009 7pm thrilled ,excited, had a great kick-boxing class, anxious, to get home and work on assignments, nerviXous, starting to rain, frustrated, here comes the train8pm hungry, looking forward to meal 5, panic, Note on door, upset, Bill took Bobby to ER, cryXing, called Bill about Bobby, ecstatic, Sarah hugged me and kissed me and said she loves me so much, nervous, called Bill again about Bobby, anxious and happy at the same time, about Bobby and Sarah, Thankful, Dr thinks Bobby just had a rupture of a polop, mellow, waiting for Bill to get home, talking, call Niki Confused, looking at assignment 12b, grateful I had someone to ask checking message from coach. 10pm Sleepy, watching News waiting for Bill, Smiling, overjoyed, thinking about Sarah hugging and kissing and telling me she loved me so much tonight. 11pm dragging, fixing meal 6 ( it’s late so just cottage cheese with protein powder and pineapple) 12 midnight sleepy, blessed that Bill just drove up, talking about Bobby with Bill 1am Bed Wednesday May 6, 2009 7am tired, coffee, back hurts, workout, Thyroid pill 8am surprised, Bill fixed me a 4 egg whites omelet and grilled asparagus, coffee, excited to start my day time to go, ready, singing in the car to workout and teach my classes 9am workout ( muscle pump) cheerful, smiling, happy, hyper 10am feel good, excited, get ready, singing (to self), setting up for sr. class 11:30pm happy, had a lot of srs today drinking Protein Shake/ Banana, great class, love working with Mr. George, ready (to go do personal weight routine) delighted & encouraged, pleased & important, warm and fuzzy inside, I over heard one of the srs taking about me and to be here for Friday’s class because I was getting evaluated and they wanted a big class to support me, 12:30 noon pumped, feel good, smiling, wondering, if I have what it takes to complete in Competition) driving, singing, on the way home, excited & thinking about the new project to have the Transformation Challenge at the gym 1:30pm gleeful, shopping, buying, happy, guessing, looking for the right thing to buy for Sarah for Mothers Day 2:30pm hungry, Protein bar, That’s cute, ConXfused, on what to get, wondering, Perfect elated, found an elephant holding a necklace, I love u mommy 3:30pm happy & singing, while driving home, relaxed, home, thinking about computer, assignments, Meal 4, thinking ,interested and excited and feel very fortunate, about all the new projects with T.com the Wave and at the gym 4:30pm hungry, Meal 4 (chicken breast, mixed veggies and sweet potato, talking , on phone with the 3 grandkids, working, on computer, t.com, take photos & post 5:30pm working, on computer,t.com assignments, concentrating, working 6:30pm energetic, cleaning house and washing clothes 7:30pm satisfied, getting the house clean and all these exercise clothes washed, thinking, will have to cut grass tomorrow 8pm anxious, upset worried, no news about Bobby yet, praying, bobby is ok, taking a break, watching TV news, Getting depressed about Bobby and the news is depressing too. Anxious, calling the hospital again 9pm calmer but still worried, Bill on the way home, still doing tests on Bobby 9:30pm calm, reassured, at ease, talking to Bill about Bobby, relaxed, quiet, 10pm peaceful, watching tv 10:30pm tired, getting sleepy 11:30 comfortable & serene, watching tv 12 midnight tired, sleepy, Bed " Every time you speak; your mind is on parade; take time to think, it is the source of wisdom "

I have been driven by positivity for many years, but just now realized how often and easily I can let others affect me with their unwanted input. I can choose to let it change my head, or choose not to. Thank you for this assignment, Bill...this was an awesome exercise for me!!! Power Words: light, happy, doing it, athlete, strong, loving, confident, now, get right, my best, runner, abyss, belief, open. Undesireable words: well, I will leave them in my journal because I don't want their energy on this site. =) I learned a lot from doing this, though, and now I know my word ratio and where to keep myself. Love and light, Christa

Man, These assignments are so difficult sometimes, especially when they have me reflect on my thoughts for the day. Right now is an especially trying time as I am taking a new direction that can be difficult and trying at times. Here is my daily thoughts and actions in a nutshell: If I don't get up now I won't get my workout in, why doesn't he get the baby, I will just take her on a jog with me then. Oh it feels so good to be out in the fresh air. What a beautiful day. I only have 15 more min to get back and get my shower in before the kids show up, Oh Madison is awake again, I will just bring her in the shower and she can play in the water. I guess I will get my teeth brushed after breakfast. Oatmeal and eggs sound good. kids what do you want to eat? boys stop fighting over that toy or I will put it up. Trent why did you hit Conner? Ugh, can't they just get along? Oh how precious, Madison is getting so good a pulling herself up. want some oatmeal baby. Carsen, what's the matter baby, are you tired already, it's ok sweetie. Boys, you need to sit on opposite couches and think about how you are going to be nice to each other today. You can't just take toys from him Conner. He will get angry and not let you take it. I think I will take the boys out for a nice Friday treat and hopefully getting them out of the house will help them to get along. Man these babies are hard to lug around. hope David doesn't get mad about me spending a little money today. I am sure I will get a few more kids soon. Oh man, I really need to finish up the loose ends on my assignments. I need you to close your eyes Conner it's rest time. Trent, you too. Oh man I hope they both fall asleep. David! you are home early. I'm just going to rest my eyes for a minute k? Oh no, we didn't get the Bag colored for Conner's Mothers day gift. Oh well guess a brown paper bag will have to do. oops. Oh thank goodness now my weekend can start. I wonder what the kids would like to do tonight. I just want to relax. maybe we can watch a movie. I will get the popcorn started. Oh I still have to put in that order. Oh I need to finish my assignments. .......................... Luckaly, I didn't have any kids to pick up or take to school. This day tells me, I am scattered and I need to work on some organization still. I now things will calm down once the kids are used to a routine and we have more summer activities. I remember David commenting on how happy I seemed that morning. It made me feel good and I really see his mood changing for the better and so much growth in him now that my emotions are not weighing on him.

After a week of writing here is my report: Happy, strong, perseverance, tired, exhausted, joyful, hopeful, not giving up, athlete on the works, stronger, balanced, self-controled, loving, funny, smart, can overcome anything, self-confident, self-control, overweight, not being truthfull, cocky, egocentric, oriented, know what to do, stop procrastination, happy, loved, loving.

This was a great assignment, I am grateful for it. When I paid attention to my thoughts. I did come to realise that I am having much more positive thoughts on the regular. But I have also come to realise that I had this belief that I never want to be a bother to anyone. So when this came up I realized it made more sacrifice myself for others. So now I know that IT'S OK FOR ME TO BE ME! IT'S OK FOR ME TO BE HERE!

Assignment #12b The Awesome Power of Words Here are the results of my "24 hour word review".: Positive Words: Strong, loved, happy, proud, humbled, energized, positive, confident, sore, I can, I get to, improving daily, I will Negative Words: Frustrated, overwhelmed, stupid knee, not important I think I tend to stay on the positive side of things. I think my dh leans toward seeing the negative side of things where as I see the positive. I try very hard to speak to myself using positive affirmations. I'm not always great at it, but for the most part that is where I live my daily life. I am happy with me and I want to share that happiness with others to brighten their day as well!!

This assignment is very eye opening and after this being something I have been working on for the second time around I find myself still being very open to where my thoughts and feelings are comming from..So, being in tune with something that I have been feeling and focusing on for an hour is that I am mostly hard on my family, as in my siblings and tend to jump to conclusions in my mind on why they do this or why they dont do this, and I tend to be judgemental towards them in a fashion. I have really tuned into my feelings about why I would do this, and decided that If I would just focus on me, and how I can do things and feel differently about situations. So, being aware of the thoughts and putting this assignment as a focus in my mind and my heart I can now just LOVE them unconditionally. Some things I cannot change, but what I can change is how I think and how I feel about things. I am aware of this and working on this everyday. I love this assignment it makes me stay aware of where my thoughts are. The other feelings I have are when I see myself I now feel these feelings about me.. Georgeann is changing--changing to become a better person. Creative- doing things to make me feel proud, gaining hobbys that make me feel accomplished and good about myself. Focused--focused on my goals my dreams, and my realities, focused on my results. Friendly--I find that I am reaching out more to my fellow men and I am happier and friendlier to all. Dissapointed-- I am feeling a little dissapointed in that my weight loss isnt as fast as I wanted it to be. Committed--I am committed to do my best alnd to get my body in the very best shape of my life. No-matter how long it takes. I am not like my husband who lost it alot faster than I am, but I am committed to having toned, tight, and a beautifully fit body. I am Proud---Proud of how far I have come and proud that I am now 82 lbs lighter than I was this time last year, proud of the way I think and feel. Proud that I am a non-smoker, and that I want to be the very best ME that I can be.. Proud to be a member of this wonderful community and that I get to share in my progress of bettering my life. Thankful~ Very Thankful for all the blessings in my life, for the Love I feel in my heart.. Thankful for the JOY in my life and for this feeling of fullfillment.. Thankful for my family, and for the wonderful effect this has had on each one of them. For the desires they now have to work on their lives and to be the best they can be. Thankful for my husband for the sweet, loving and caring man that he is to me. For giving his 110% and starting this Transformation process in our life. For being the Leader in our home. And Thankful to Bill, for blessing all of us with his generous heart to make a change and to better this nation. I stand beside you and am a proud supporter of this amazing journey called Transformation!!!!

I am worth it, belief, at peace, deep sense of happiness and love, a fight (to shift the weight and transform), determined, disappointed that it is not more and faster… These are major recurring themes of my notes and scribbles… overall though is a sense of purpose, belonging and for the first time a deep sense of contentment… For a very long time I was punishing myself for a variety of things that were not my fault, I did not control and although I fought ‘tooth and nail’ for them, I did not really want them (deep inside) and they were wrong for me anyway… These days there is a voice that is inside me all of the time. It is a gentle reminder that you float in quick-sand by not struggling but by not struggling – against all ‘reason’ you must do the opposite to your instincts. Or rather you must retain them. This holds true for swimming and many other things. So who said that we don’t have to retrain our minds and how we deal with out spirit? For me what I have found to be true is that when I am either at complete peace or occasionally ‘in the zone’ training, perspectives ‘bubble up’ to my conscious mind that complete illuminate me or a situation. I can resolve historical issues and current dilemmas, simply by relaxing and ‘having faith’… some where that answer will always come… the gentle voice of wisdom that for so long was drowned out by my flaying about… Loved this exercise!

It is amazing how far I've come in the last 16 weeks! I wish that I'd have done this assignment the week before I started my transformation and again in week 16. I feel so much more alive, aware, and in control of myself now then I ever have before. I loved making myself aware of my thoughts and words. I know that I feel great because I am thinking nobler thoughs.......or do I think nobler thoughts because I feel great? They go hand and hand. I've learned to trust myself. I know at this week that I am succeeding, that I am in control of my life. Fears can not control my life when I acknowledge them and bring the lies to light. Some of the phrases that I said today are: You can do it, That's awesome, I'm so happy for you, You are so cute, I love you, I'm here if you need me, you smell good, I like your outfit, Please Leave!, I'm disappointed, I'm overwhelmed, Congratulations, Thank you, You are working hard, I see why now, I'm tired, beautiful, I love it, You are so smart, It would be fun to see you, How can I help you........ Something in me already knew that you create your own reality, but to make myself aware in an active concious way is to unleash a power for positive change. This is the ability to transform every aspect of your life.

There was a time in my life when my thoughts were my reality. I would get cut off in traffic and my brain would say "that guy is an idiot" and a split second later, while giving a long finger salute, I would say "you are an Idiot" to that person and made sure they knew how I felt about them. Then, over the next few minutes and sometimes longer, I would pitcure that guy being an idiot in the daily course of his life... being an idiot to his wife and kids, being an idiot at his job... come to think of it, all those people must be idiots just for hanging around with this guy... By the time I got where I was going, my reality was that I lived in a world full of idiots. On the flip side, say I met someone who was doing well, owned a company or had a PhD of some type. My brain would say something to the effect of "wow, This person has got it going on, much more so than you, they must be a genius." So, my reality became that they were better people than I could ever be and I was slotted in with the ranks of the idiots. Then there are the moments that pull at my heart strings... a homeless guy curled up next to a dirty little dog, a frazzled mother paying for a meager supply of food with change, an elderly woman making her way up 4 flights of stairs to an empty apartment... my brain would say "oh man, these poor people, how did they wind up like this?" My reality was that there is so much pain and hardship in the world and I felt sorry for these folks... A lifetime of listening and believing this line of thinking built a reality that was full of idiots, people who were better than me and people who deserved my pity. Not fitting in to any of these categories left me disconnected from the world. Through Transformation, reflection and study, I have come to realize that there are always 2 soundtracks in my head. When someone cut me off there was the "idiot!" voice and the "relax." voice... Meeting someone of importance brought both thoughts of "better than me" and ""you are just as good"... seeing the disparate and downtrodden brings feelings of "those poor people" and "there but for the grace of god go I." These are the voices of my ego and spirit. Both omnipresent and denying one leads to me living an unbalanced life. Today, as I work in transformation, I am developing the skill to become an observer of my thoughts. As a person who operated through automatic responses, this has been one of the most challenging and rewarding exercises yet. I do this on a moment to moment, thought to thought basis. I try to avoid snap judgments in every situation and think through my response both internal and external. I allow myself to have both egoic and spiritual thoughts and chose the one that is in line with the way I have decided to create my reality. For example, I was in the grocery store last night and headed down the frozen food isle to grab a bag of frozen blueberries. There was a large man, about my pre-transformation size, pondering which tub of ice cream to get. My first reaction was "back off tubby, like you need ice cream..." a moment later I thought " this guy is not happy with himself, you should let this guy know about transformation.com, it could change his life!" A quick observation of my thoughts led me to this conclusion: "that was a pretty mean thing to say, in the future, try not to be such a smartass and do not assume to know this man's mental state, he is on his own path, get your blueberries"

After completing this assignment, I noticed that I have a lot more positive words than negative words in my thoughts and my "speaks". The most positive word that kept coming up was spirit-filled. Others were grateful, worshipful, motivated, learning, loving, trusting, and calm. The most negative word that kept coming up was tired...but that was because I woke up at 2am and couldn't go back to sleep for some reason. Another was negative environment (which I removed myself from in a hurry). Thank you for this assignment and helping us become more aware of the words that we think and use on a daily basis. - Chad

Being completely honest I think that reading this assignment several times while pondering the words I use and making note made me much more cautious of the types of words I use. Since I had read the assignment I would actually catch myself if I started a negative thought and try to turn it into something more positive. This has really made me aware and I will now make a conscious effort to use more positive words. Words are very powerful and this assignment has given me the power to chose my words carefully :) Thanks Bill

I like to read the assignments and then ponder them for a few days, and that's what I did with this one. I didn't start writing things down immediately, but the next day I noticed that I called myself a dummy or a bonehead at least three different times. Now it's a week later and so much has changed. I'm not sure this is the right time to conquer this assignment, but I'm feeling the urgency to get the assignments completed before my 18 weeks is finished. There's no room in my head for words like "dummy" or "bonehead" anymore. Much scarier negative words have taken their place. Words like myelofibrosis, bone marrow disease, incurable, enlarged spleen, anemia, and stem cell transplant. These are the first words that pop into my head when I wake up each morning. After pausing to write what's on my mind several times today, though, I found that one word stands out above all others: God. Faith in God; God's grace; God's blessings; God's healing powers; God's miracles; God's mercy; God's glory ... God. These words, both the negative and the positive, have completely changed my focus in this challenge. Losing weight has taken the back seat to a healthy immune system and a fit body; one that is as prepared as possible to face what may be coming.

I have been working on killing the negative thoughts for sometime now. I wrote a blog about it and I found material to teach my students how to replace the negative with the positive. Now, if I would practice what I teach- I’d be alright. Which words are working for you? Muscular, vibrant, thin, determined, focused, I did it! I can do it, Christ gives me strength, wow, confident, I’m ok, helpful, giving, letting go, surrender, child of God, and sunshine Are there some power words you want to speak and write even more often? Loving, positive, happy, beautiful, successful and faithful Are there words you see that are working against you? Tired, failure, not happening, how can I? Gloomy, doubtful, afraid

It took me a while to be able to complete this assingment. I like to think on the assingments for a couple days.. but this one i actualy attempted to do the 24 hour word review on three different days, and got busy at work, or distracted and didn't end up realy writing down my words each hour. Today i was able to complete the assignment. Looking over my words, lots of them have to do with how i'm feeling... It's like half of the words are things that i'm working towards, and half are things i'm still feeling uncertain about... and there are a few other random things in there as well.. Not many of the words were "Bad" per-say.. but i can see how i'm conflicted by looking at these words. it is a very interesting concept that the words we hold in mind have such creative power. I'm excited to work on the mindfullness idea, and try to keep closer tabs on the things i'm thinking...and how they are effecting me... I especially like the "Who is doing the observing" idea in this assingment. I have made great progress over the last week or so toying with this idea.. The idea of my "higher" self, Of this great person that is me... that is the me i long to be, the me that is happy, and excells at the things she puts her mind to... I'm excited to find this possibility within myself. *smile* This was a great exercise!

As I have been observing my thoughts I keep looking back to how they were before this challange. I don't know of a time in my life where I have not had consistant underlying negative emotion, worry or chatter. I often wondered if it was ever really possible to overcome it since it seemed to almost be part of who I was. Going through this proccess I have been able to really take a look at how destructive my thoughts were... As I have unveiled the truth of who I am through out this challange, I have come to an underlying knowledge....a knowledge of truth. My spirit has been awakened and what I noticed as I observed my thoughts today....was that my spirit is aware...when something pops in my mind, that is not truth...it's like a little flag pops up and my spirit sees it and corrects it! Before... it was like my mind was "the cool hang out" spot for negative emotions...lol. I never had the skills or knew how to control them so there they were everyday having a hayday...And there I was, sunk and stuck and depressed as can be! Yeah.... I had heard all the stuff about possitive thinking but I really didn't know how to do that. So how did I get to where I am and clear up alot of those messy negative thoughts?...I unveiled the truth...How do you unveil the truth? You connect with the source of all truth... your father in Heaven...You pray consistanty...You search for truth..."seek and ye shall find...knock and it shall be opened" Seek for wisdom. Cut out anything toxic in your life...be aware of what you are watching and listening to..if it is doesn't nourish your soul..get rid of it! Make a concious effort to be alert and aware of what is going through your mind. REPLACE anything negative with something possitive. :)

I really needed this post for I know that what you tell yourself and let yourself think can make a very large differents in the outcome of your life. This past couple of days made me do so really hard thinking about things. I did notice that in situations that I would have really been down on myself before I think in a different way. Now I am working on a more positive additude. For in the past I would have been very negitive about myself and my decitions but now I am taking a look at things different. When I find myself slipping into the poor me additude or why me I try to stop and think things out and say to myself what can I learn from this and make this work. I am so greatful for Bill and the Transformation, I am relizing how much of a impact that it is having on my life and my hole body. THANK YOU BILL with all my heart. ---Donna

I really struggled on this one.. I kept putting it off until I finally realized that I had to do it. I really try very hard to not think negatively, but am surprised that it really does surface. However, I also realize that I counter balance the negative thought with something positive. It pretty much squashes it! Negatives: stressed, despair, tired, restless, frustrated, TUMMY BE GONE!, sleepy, totally sucks, not fair Positive: resourceful, powerful, determined, organized, relaxed, strong, planned, willpower, athletic,

ASSIGNMENT 12b Bill....as I have been working through my Transformation.....I have been learning how to love myself....I am excited about this exercise and will try to maintain it as one of my life long habits ..~~~~DAN

This was a challenge to me because I had to 'think' about what I've thought, It served as a reminder to me--Thank you Bill. I try to be Positive in all my thoughts, words and deeds (yes I'm a 'retired' Girl Scout haha) I Limiting words were: sad, scared, tired (but I'm on vacation so not as many words as if I was at work). Positive words were easier: GREAT,GOOD,LOVE,HAPPY,EXCITED,BLESSED & AWESOME (my favorite) I shared this lesson with my hubby and he's in agreement This Transformation is the BEST thing for EVERYONE. Take Care and God Bless. Your T.friend Kathi

My negatives for the day were completely overshadowed by the postives. Negative: Anxious, nervous, annoyed, confused, don't. Positive: Relaxed, relieved, excited, happy, giddy, calm, confident, good, loved, luckiest, grateful. This is so much different from what I would have felt 16 weeks ago. This program has made such a wonderful difference in me. Even my daughter (16 yo) has noticed. Thank you!

When I took on this assignment I wasn't sure how it would turn out. As much as I believe that I have changed, I know that I still have negative thoughts creeping into my head. Over the past couple of days I have written down key words and phrases. I am pleased that I have many more positive thoughts than I used to. I DO have negative thoughts still but the thing that I noticed is that when they come up, frequently I counter them. For example: "Why am I working so hard? I'll never win and I'll never make goal." and directly afterward I will think, "Anyone can win and I WILL make goal." I tend to repeat the counter thought several times to reinforce it. I also have mantras that I will think of throughout the day. Just simple things like "Weight loss and muscle come to me quickly and easily" that I will repeat over and over again while I'm exercising, or just when I'm aware and feel like it. It can't hurt!

limiting words - 6.....negative, unfocused, can't, this sucks, unmotivated, lazy.....................energizing words/phrases - 7..be positive, enjoy, hold head up high, grit through it with a smile, YAY!!, proud, Whew!Great Workout!.......................The energizing words work for me in that they keep me positive and going in the right direction. I want to use the energizing words more often because the limiting words are holding me back. This is a great way to keep myself in check as I'm progressing. Thanks!!

OK...this has been such an interesting lesson for me. 17 days ago I asked my accountability group where the link to this assignment was and yesterday I finally felt complete with it. First of all I tried to do this assignment without writing it down. I did a similar assignment in the artists way workshop and thought I didn't need this lesson again. But nope, I was wrong! Go figure. I noticed that I have come a long way with my words in the past year or so. I was in couples therapy a little over a year ago and we agreed to stop cussing and saying we were going to leave...well...I have had a foul mouth my whole life...since I was a teenager. I think almost every relationship I have been in has complained about it. In my observation of my words...I noticed that I really don't cuss that much anymore...when I do it tends to be when I'm really tired...so need to be more aware of what I'm saying when I'm tired...got it! I noticed that in general...I am an upbeat positive person to myself. But there is a lot of negative talk around me...at the gym..during my 10...people talking about the economy...so bad, so scary, over and over! It is hard to block all of that out. In fact I would say the most negative thing I say to myself repeatedly is scared. I didn't feel complete and so I finally started the writing of my thoughts once an hour. This was powerful..but still...didn't feel complete. My son was talking to me the other day about how when I can't get a hold of him on his cell phone...I leave him a mean message...and it ruins his whole day. HIS WHOLE DAY? Wow...I thought...that is bad.....Note to self...don't freak out on your son when you can't get a hold of him. I didn't have a cell phone growing up and somehow made it out alive LOL! Still didn't feel complete with this. I started thinking about when I was a teenager and my Mom and I really didn't get a long. I used to call her every name in the book at the top of my lungs...I mean some really awful stuff that you should never say to your Mom. My father, when I was younger always said that my Mom and I were too much alike and this is why we didn't get along. My Mom and I have gone through tons of therapy and get along great as adults, but it occurred to me, that I had always laughed this off and never apologized to her about it. I thought of calling her all week, but that didn't feel right. Yesterday, we had a family get together...there were about 18 of us. I waited till it was just her and I in a room and started telling her about this assignment and apologized. We both started crying and she came over and hugged me and apologized for not being the Mom I needed as a young child, because I was so independent right from the start and she said she never knew how to handle it. It was all good...I have forgiven my Mom a long time ago for any shortcomings she may have had and I know she had forgiven me as well for the mean names. But it just felt good to let it all go...once and for all. I feel cleansed and complete with this project. I will continue to be mindful of my words and be aware of how the affect others as well as myself. Thank you Bill. Sorry so long! Jennifer

This is a very interesting assignment. Once you start tracking what you think and how often you think it starts to paint a picture on what you focus on most. I`m pretty sure the thoughts I would write down pre-challenge would be quite different than the thoughts I journal now. Thanks for this assignment Bill!

This assignment was more difficult than many of the others. I have worked a long time at changing the way I speak to myself but there obviously was some negative thinking dispersed among the positive. The basic theme that seemed to be a natural thread throughout the day was questioning myself. I questioned a lot of ifs, I questioned a lot of whens I questioned...questioned....questioned. Although the thoughts were NOT as overtaking as the positive thoughts….I can, I will, I am! This exercise has been fruitful and will continue to be a way to monitor my mindset and thinking. I am ready for more…..

I actually am in an ongoing daily routine of writing these down. It has served as a journal of sorts. I find solace in writing down all the good things that come out of it on a seperate sheet and burning the notebook as I go. It makes for a great fire with which to feel cozy, warm and happy as I read my conquering statements! They are enough to make you want to run, hike, love, hug and dance and sometimes just for kicks dance we do in front of the fire.

I tried this exercise over a few days. Here are the words that came to mind:Limiting words: I can’t, anxious, overwhelmed, reluctant, resistant, stressed out, intolerant, not very bright Positive power words: I can, love, excited, hopeful, grateful, abundant, blessed, energetic, humble, compassion, empathetic, understanding, fabulous, successful, bright future.

This was a very interesting exercise...to see what my self-talk was like over a single day period. Overall I was pleased to see that 1 out of every 6 words I wrote down had a positive twist. I was surprised to have that many negative words though. Words that are working for me include "present," "joyful," "grateful," and "content." Words I would like to use more often include "energetic" and "energized." Words working against me include "anxious," "tense," and "edgy."

Assignment #12b This has been one of the toughest assignments for me to complete so far because it forced me to listen closely to the words I choose to fill my mind with daily. The timing couldn’t have been better as I have been struggling over the last few weeks with my true purpose in this transformation. Let’s face it, the lure of winning $10,000, $10,000 to a favorite charity, a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii and being crowned Transformation Champion is probably what peaks the interest of most when they first visit Transformation.com. I was no exception. Yes, I also wanted to lose weight, get in better shape, be stronger, be happier etc., but I would be lying if I were to say these were the only reasons I decided to sign up and begin my transformation, besides who wouldn’t want to be crowned a champion? I certainly thought I did, at least until something started raging inside me several weeks ago. I am one of those who never puts a lot of stock in grand prizes, never-the less, I am also a true believer in “if you don’t try, you will certainly never win”. So here I am, 12-1/2 weeks into my challenge and moving along quite well with the weight loss (45 lbs to be exact). So why does this assignment stir up so many emotions for me. I believe it is because of my underlying belief that no matter how hard I try I’m just not worthy of winning, and I am tired of feeling this way. It infuriates me to believe I am not a winner, especially after all the hard work I have put into my transformation. Why would I allow myself to feel this way after 12 weeks of positive results. My attitude has made an about face, my relationship with my wife and boys couldn’t be better, I am more relaxed and content with my purpose and plan, so how can I allow such self-defeating thoughts and words to fill my mind? I believe it has a lot to do with my underlying and lifelong struggle with feeling guilty when I do well at anything, as if I don’t deserve it. I think this has a lot to do with why I can’t stick with a program for any length of time. After the new wears off I lose interest and seek other things to inspire me. My wife and I examined this while on our anniversary beach trip this past weekend. I took advantage of the free time to jot down those words (both positive and negative) I allow to enter my mind each day. I was surprised to find that although the negative thoughts were present I was able to counter balance them with positive thoughts as well. It almost became a game throughout the weekend and was a lot of fun as I found myself actually laughing at some of my negative thoughts. I guess my transformation is having an effect on me after all, and that is a great feeling. Now, with that said, my wife probably knows me better than anybody so I have constantly relied on her for feedback and guidance throughout my transformation. She is very smart and in tune with life, and has helped me dramatically throughout the years with all my issues! She feels I have always sought after external approval and acceptance from others in order to validate my accomplishments, regardless of the outcome or how I might feel. She believes it is a direct result of my dad leaving us when we were so young, and I would probably have to agree with her. Although I feel I was very well liked growing up and had lots of friends I can remember repeating negative words over and over in my mind like “What’s the use”, or “I’ll be let down again” and my favorite, “I’ll never be good enough”. These thoughts led me to develop an internal drive to never make mistakes, be in control of every aspect of my life, and always seek external acceptance for validation. My wife also pointed out that she feels I have a hard time giving myself credit for doing a good job, that I am still seeking external praise, and if it doesn’t come, I start blaming myself for not doing my best. I believe she knows me pretty well, so I had to admit she was right, and agree with her assessments. She also took the opportunity to point out some positive attributes she feels have been beneficial in my life as well. She believes that as a result of my dad leaving, and knowing first hand how that affected me, I became a dependable husband and father, that I am a very careful and organized, and that I became a risk taker early in life which allowed me to accomplish many things. So, for assignment #12b I took the whole weekend to work on some of these issues. I started my work the moment we left our home and used the four hour trip to reflect on my 27 year marriage to the love of my life. Only a few times did I allow negative words to fill my mind. Below is the list of negative and positive thoughts that I jotted down during the weekend. It doesn’t include all entries but the one’s I felt had the most impact. I will place a brief description off to the side as to what I feel triggered the thoughts. Negative words and thoughts “ I’m an idiot for missing that exit” - Missed my exit sign off the interstate. “ I don’t know how much more I can take” - Thinking about work. “I sure hope we don’t have a flat” - During my drive to the beach. “Can I really afford this trip” - During drive to the beach “I should have known this would happen” - A result of the hotels gym being closed for renovations. “Our view sucks” - After looking out our window and seeing a dumpster. “Why haven’t I lost more weight” - Once I pulled my shirt off on the beach. “I’m still fat” - During a walk down the beach. “I’m gonna get out of this car and slap that woman silly” - Sitting at a stop light behind a lady talking on her cell phone who wasn’t paying attention when the light turned green. “I’m running out of time with my transformation” - Thinking about my deadline. “Who am I kidding, I’ve never won anything in my life!” - During a feel sorry for me moment. “ Maybe I’m too old for this” - While looking at myself in the mirror. Positive words and thoughts “Wow, what a surprise!” - After finding out the hotel had arranged for me to work out free at a fantastic gym just up the road. “I’ve done a great job so far” – Pondering my transformation. “Boy, am I glad to be alive” – While sitting on the beach gazing out over the ocean. “I love my family” – While watching my boys throwing a football on the beach. “I’m starting to look pretty darn good” - While getting dressed for dinner. “I can control my thoughts” - After almost being involved in a wreck and remaining calm. “I can accomplish a lot in 5 weeks” - Pondering the remainder of my transformation. “I am a lucky man” - Listening to my beautiful wife and best friend laugh. “I deserved that trip” - Once arriving home. I learned a lot about myself during this lesson. I realize how easy it is to let negative thoughts control my mood. I also saw how easy it is to control the positive thoughts as well. I plan on using this tool for the remainder of my transformation and to help me get through those difficult times ahead. Thanks Bill! Greg :)

Before beginning this exercise, I thought I would have more negative words than positive, but it came out almost equal. I found that when I was frustrated by work or dreading a task I had to do, the negative thoughts came out. I did this exercise a few days ago, and am finding that each time I look in the mirror now, I say positive things. Like beautiful, or thin, or smile. It has helped me become more conscious of my thoughts and I am replacing those unauthorized words with the power words. can do energized happy brightside beautiful grateful proud strong lifestyle Unauthorized words: fat scared overwhelmed can't cluttered unorganized afraid impatient

Today is my 12a day. Thank you Bill for sharing your spiritual exercises. Mary

I am going to love doing this assignment Bill, I will do it tomorrow and write it right in my blog...I have visited this assignment before in my Spiritual School when we have had to jot down our thoughts throughout the day. I am ready to revisit this and look foward to seeing how I am doing....In response to the 12a assignment, I actuallly went through a few blogs I had written and drew lines through the core beliefs I keep repeating to myself in certain areas of my life that are in progress....and rewrote positive affirmations in place of them, and I left the original sentence there so I could go back and look sometime...I have been working on this area of changing the inner thoughts, being a positive speaking spirit and it is something that requires great effort, I can say I do see progress within myself over the years....which is great....from where I came from it is fantastic how I feel about life in general and I know that I am only moving forward, upward and onward and am so excited to know about these things....thanks for spreading the light, great stuff. Love Thia

WOW! Another assignment that blew me away! I cannot tell you how interesting it was to find more positive words that negative ones. You see, I really was never considered a “glass-is-half-full” kind of person. Since my transformation has progressed that has changed a lot. There were no negative words that were repeated, only positive ones… The words that I really “gravitated” to were MOTIVATED, THINKING, EXCITED, WORKING, LOVED, READY, INCLUDED, HELPING, HAPPY, CALMER, CREATIVE, WORTHY, RELIABLE, NEEDED, MINDFUL, FUN, REFLECTING and CARING. The negative ones… funny enough were written down while I was at work. They were- sad, confused, alone, cold, bored, nervous, and stressed. I did not capitalize these words, as I do not want to give them any more power over me than they previously have . I cannot allow myself to use words or thoughts like this at home or at work. Period. They limit my ability to be successful, and do not allow me to rise to my fullest potential. We aren't really mentally present if we are only focused on the negative things are we? The negative words are all now eliminated from my thinking and vocabulary! The words "sad, alone, cold, bored, nervous, and stressed" have all been crossed out. An important note about this assignment… my accountability partner and I, Metamorphosis, sent an email to each other every hour listing our words. It helped keep us on track. I suggest that method with anyone who needs a push. When my work day was over, I just set a reminder on my phone. Just some tips for anyone who needs them. :) Learning, Living and Loving every day, Geoff A.K.A. “Alexandboogsdad”

Assignment 12b The Awesome Power of Words After a day of carrying my pocket sized spiral notebook, here are the words and phrases I used. Most were positive comments. It looks like I am becoming more aware of my actions and words. Positive: I Can; I Will; I Did; I Get To; I Feel Great; Great Job; How Fun Was That?; You look Great!; Your Eyes Are Beautiful; You Have a Great Smile; Wow!; Love You!; Miss You!; I Love You To!; I'll Cook; I'll Wash; Give Me A Kiss; I'll Tuck You In; What can I help You With?; No Problem; Thank You!; I'm Back. Negetive: I'll Try; I wish; Why? I could; No! Words that are working for me: Can; Will; Did; Great; Fun; Beautiful; Smile; Wow; Love; Give; Help; Thanks! Words working against me: Try; Wish; Why; Could; No! I like this exercise and will continue it on a daily basis. I believe that it will bring me closer to all of my goals by increasing my awareness of how I carry myself! Hop

For me, this assignment depends on the day that I write the words down. What I mean is that on the day that I wrote out this assignment I was having a really amazing day. So every word, every thought, every action was positive. I wish that I could say that EVERY day now is like that but I can't. I CAN say that I now have more positive thinking, acting, and speaking days than even the slightest negative thought. So, in that, I've changed and have made a lot of progress. Examples of my thinking for the day that I wrote the assignment out (and most days now) ~ I look and feel confident. I look and feel cheerful, pleasant, friendly to everyone. I want to do good things for my self and for others. For my health and to help others achieve good health. I portray a calm professionalism. I have the attitude of a servant, putting others needs first. I AM energetic and ALIVE! Beverly :D

I am curious to complete this task today, but personal awareness of my “self-talk “came to me in the early transformation weeks, so I have been doing something similar to this off and on the whole time. I needed to start early! I had been on the alert for obvious self-swearing, but I sometimes found a negative message in comments that I had intended to be positive or useful!? Now that was a surprise! As an example, I had a client who took maybe 15-18 prescription meds daily and only drank coffee and tea. I wanted to encourage her to drink water. So, for the sake of “connecting” with her without her feeling like I was criticizing her, I told her that I “didn’t like water either”, but that I poured out a big jar of it in the morning and “made” myself finish it by the end of the day! I did not even think about this at the time, but driving home I thought about how our bodies are comprised mostly of water, with fat having very little! So pretty much I was saying that I didn’t like myself much, except for my FAT! Now how do you think my “cell intelligence” was reacting to that comment! That night I started telling myself how much I “loved” water. And as one of the main things I am seeking in the Transformation is “my own truth” I put a big sign on my half gallon canning jar of water that read “TRUTH SERUM.” Then I pretended that every swallow of water was one step closer to self-realization. OK! That sounds weird, but now I easily drink that amount of water and more, and it tastes great. Love water, love me! Have you seen the studies by the Japanese researcher Dr. Emoto where water was exposed to different words and sounds and then frozen and photographed? Positive words and music produced glorious, harmonious crystal formation and toxic words produced frozen structures that were broken and disfigured. Hey! I think I need a new sign on my water jar…a litany of all my “good” words from the previous assignment!

Another thing I noticed is that I went out of my way to be kinder to strangers during this assignment. I believe it was because I felt happier and more positive to everyone, not just myself..

What a great assignment! I was not able to complete it after only one day. I used three to really get the hang of it. Before I even started this assignment, I knew it was going to be a good one for me. I had already started this many months ago because of a situation I was going through. A person mind is so powerful, that sometimes it is able to create situation good or bad just by thinking them. I had discovered that the situation in my head was not as positive as I thought it to be, so I was working on changing it and replacing it with prayers. Prayers to me are as positive as you can get. After completeing this assignment, I was so happy to see how many times I talked to God each day. Because of this, I realised that I was already changing any negative thoughts that entered my mind to positive very quickly. I work with children all day long, so not many negative thoughts enter my mind. They are mostly about love, compassion, kindness and teaching. After work, I hit the gym. I found my words are more about power, strength, will, energy and myself or my ego. I was a bit surprised how many times I thought of myself as I worked out. I felt a bit conceeded at times, maybe that isn't bad, but was an eye opener for me. At home, my words changed again more to overwhelming and tired, but, I found love and happiness in my thoughts as well. As my day ends each night, I have learn to recap the day with thanks and praise to God. This assignment helped me to see what i need to work on and when in my thoughs, it also showed me that I am on the right track with help from God and a positive though process always. These assignments just keep getting better and better!

Positive words: Slimming Progressing Energetic Momentum Motivated Overcoming temptations Ready to turn the corner Optimistic Ready for workout Excited Surprised Changing Able to change Ready to progress Proud of my transformation Seeing definite progress Healthy Getting fit Dedicated Not going back A little sexy Developing Good habits Balancing well In control Ready for more Flexible Optimistic Strong Encouraging Not a victim Fighting Reforming Thankful Negative words: Apprehensive Trying to balance Struggling Afraid to let go Overwhelmed Under the weather Not enough time Too Busy Trying not to coast Sore Up and down I had written down "energetic," "motivated" and "progressing" several times and they seem to be positive things working form me. I want to dwell on "balancing well," "overcoming temptations" and "thankful" more going forward. I want to stay away from "too busy," "overwhelmed" and "afraid."

The 24 Hour Word Review I’m tired. I don’t want to face the day. I’m still fat. When will my stomach roll go away? My arms are starting to look nice! I need to lose more weight and get to a smaller size. I feel frumpy. I keep wearing the same clothes. I am thankful. I am grateful. I surrender my day to God. I feel happiness. I feel joy. I am ready to tackle the day! Negative tone towards someone I can’t do that. I don’t get it. I’m not as good as… I’m dumb. Why doesn’t my brain get this or work this way! I am NOT dumb. I am a capable human being. I have different strengths and weaknesses than others. I am not less of a person. I feel a sense of accomplishment. That candy looks temptingI need chocolate! But what will that do for me? Nothing. I would rather feel good than fulfill immediate gratification. One little bit won’t hurt. Missing my workout won’t matter. I am going to die! (said while running) I CAN Do this! I WILL do this. I am NOT stopping until I have finished. I AM Strong. I AM smart. I AM capable.

The Secret also has a lot of good info. about our thoughts. Wayne Dyer is one of my favorites and I am reading a couple of his books related to Taoism.

24 Hour Word Review - some of it was painful to admit. I feel really good Glad I worked out My knee is really sore Why do I keep doing that? I know I need to deal with this…maybe later I don’t want to think about this right now Feeling energetic Happy Determined I’m afraid, how do I start to change? I want to be an egg-carrier, not an egg breaker My ego is showing I’m not quitting Try harder If Bill were here watching me, I’d do more Yeah, the book is being published Why can’t I be more open? They talk too much I can do this Dust off the cobwebs and see my dream again What now Lord? I need to get back to work I’m tired I’ll exercise later…no, I better do it now I’m excited and happy Help me Lord It makes me uncomfortable thinking about dealing with it I’m feeling very good I can do it Pumped Oh crap … I can’t believe I just said that Owww, my abs hurt but the workout was great

Assignment 12b blog_31209.jpg Bill, I had to put on my internal boxing gloves for this one. I had a range of emotions and thoughts that lasted all week as I worked my way through. I had to put on my internal boxing gloves to keep my self in check. I am moving forward and feel excited and energized about my future i am leaving the old me behind as I venture out in the world, I will write her letters and keep her posted on my progress ;) until she slowly just fades away. I said and thought words like can't,week fragile,hide, go back into your shell, dark cloud. Bills,Finances, Taxes,anxiety fear. obligations, messy house, too many repairs, do I fit in am i good enough? I also had positive thoughts like look how far you have come!, joyful, it is worth it, keep going, hang on!!!! I am strong I have the ability to do this! I will not give up!!!! The light in me is prevailing. I love my family and my life. This assignment was really hard and I am ready to move forward with the next and the brighter week ahead. I plan to re-visit it soon for perspective Much Love Liz

I completed the assignment yesterday, I had a average day as far as work goes. I found about 2/3 of the time I was positive, the other 1/3 I need to work on. It did make me very aware of how my thoughts can change quickly depending what situation I run into, or even what person I may be talking to. I learned a lot, and it will make me slow down and think more about how I treat myself and others. Thanks Bill this was a great exercise! I"ll try it again in a week or so and compare it to this one. Thanks again, Terry

Well, I got through the entire day and really focused on what phrases and feelings I have. I must say that it amazing to really understand the mood swings and verbage that comes out of my mouth and said inside my head. The day was somewhat split in almost two different moods. I have always felt a shift in my moods and mannerisms during certain periods of the day but never really put energy to focus on them. This morning, I was high on life... or maybe coffee... but I felt great! I started the assignment with some mixed emotions but I am positive it helped me. I had wonderful thoughts like: ready to have Easter, feelings of gratitude and selflessness, humbled to be able to serve others, satisfied with my life, enjoying my morning, I can do anything, I feel success and believe in myself, I have completed all my assignments, I love you Kimber... Kara... Kolter... Lisa, Have a wonderful day, I'm so proud of you Kimber. These positive feelings kept me vibrant. Mentally, I felt warm inside and focused. Physically, I was aware of my body posture... my shoulders and pulled them back, my head and eyes staying up. At the same time, I was exhausted because I had been up for 20 hours and just getting off work. My only negative feelings this morning was the anxiety I had about completing my last assignment and finding out when I was going to workout today. The late morning and mid afternoon, I went to bed and slept from my midnight work. Once I woke up from my slumber... which I didn't sleep well at all, I felt more negative inside. It was a mix fo positive and negative emotions going through me. A lot was driven at the mess of my house and my view of how it should be. Once I was around my middle child, Kara (15 mon), where I tell her phrases like: No, no, no; Get down from the chair, sit down, don't touch. Also to my oldest daughter, Kimber (7y/o), clean your room!; don't play in the kitchen, don't pick up your sister like that. And of course, Kolter (3 mon), he had shots today and cried his head off ALL NIGHT LONG! If you're a parent, you know what goes through your mind when this happens. I didn't let it bother me too much though. As it was time for the kids to go to bed, I became and felt more positive and happier. I watched Kimber read to her younges sister, Kara, while she was in bed and I felt a warmth in me again. I told Kimber that I was very proud of her and for doing a great job on keeping her room cleaned and manners today. She was very happy and gave me a gigantic hug. This brings me to now! Overall, I have felt that most of my negative energy comes from things that really shouldn't have much relevence to how I feel. It was mainly things like the house not being cleaned up, cleaning up after yourself, and self respect of yourself and of others. It's a daily battle I have at home. The peak stress level for me is when I arrive home to see the house in shambles and my negative emotions take over and start blaming others. But, I do have more positives than negatives and see how my feelings and emotions create my life. If I can start changing my patters of thinking and understand the personal questions about my environment and myself, I will starte engaging more and possibly be a better role model to my family. Not just yell... but inspire! I feel positive I'm changing myself inside and know that this transformation is real! Thanks for the assignment Bill!

This has by far been the hardest assignment. I didn't want to do it and I still don't really want to talk about it. However, it is where I need a mighty change of heart or my whole transformation will be a farce. I did assignment 12b on Saturday. I knew I would be shocked at the outcome and I was. People on this site and acquaintances in my non cyber life know me as a friendly, cheerful person. However, when I was doing the assignment I was horrified at how many negative words and phrases were in my head. It wasn't the best of days but it wasn't the worst either. I definitely have been feeling better, happier, healthier and lighter through this transformation, but the amount of negativity left was astounding to say the least. It made me feel like a fake, a hypocrite, a fraud really. How can I be so kind, compassionate, caring and loving in my thoughts and words with people on this site, but still be so harsh, rude, irritable and impatient with the people I care most about, my husband and beautiful daughters. Some of the words in my head and spoken out loud: annoyed, desperate, worthless, frustrated, furious, trying so hard and always failing, whatever, shut up, just everybody be quiet, can't do this anymore, why, what is even the point, angry, mad, sad, crying, I am messing up my kids, i can never get it right, failure. There were some positive ones too: keep trying, please help me God, commit, decide to change, get back up, you can do this. I was trying to consciously guide my thoughts in more positive ways but without much success. My oldest daughter Victoria who is only three felt that I was walking along the edge on Saturday and went out of her way to be kind to me. But a three year old only can take so much. After being mean all day, I finally said something harsh to the girls that was the last straw for her. She looked at me and teared up, then she said (and please remember, she is THREE!!!): "Mommy, I don't appreciate it when you are mean to me, it makes me very sad. I was not even being mean to you." It was heartbreaking. We both had a good cry and then of course I apologized to all the girls and asked their forgiveness. I explained to her that I was so grateful she was being so christlike with me. She had the kindness to be loving towards me even though I wasn't. I told her she was truly a follower of Christ. On the other hand, I made it clear that I was wrong to treat her and her sisters like that and that it's not okay to act like that towards anybody. It did worry me that she was acting so mature. It reminded me too much of my own growing up in an alcoholic family, where I always had to be so grown up and mature and calm, while my parents were the childish, screaming, out of control people. I want a carefree childhood for my kids without having to take care of me. I want them to just be kids. Then today I had a fight with my husband about something trivial and he finally asked me what I was really mad about, which I had been for the last few days since doing the assignment. He complained that I seemed mad frequently and I complained about a host of things I thought he wasn't doing right. Anyway, our "conversation" was going nowhere and we were growing more distant and cold and hurtful by the minute. All of a sudden, he grew soft and started tearing up. He said he couldn't promise me to change all those things I wanted him to change, but that he would only promise me things he could fulfill. He said he would always love me and never leave me. I started bawling, and we were hugging and kissing and talking and making up within seconds. I don't understand why he would still want to be with me. I can be so mean. Obviously my fear of abandonment is a huge issue and when he reassured me that he wasn't going to do that, i was able to soften and be genuine and feel again. I'm probably not making much sense here, and it might not be what this assignment is all about. What I always knew and know even clearer now after this assignment is that I do still use words to hurt people, sometimes purposely, sometimes carelessly. I don't know why I do it. I don't want to hurt my family. Sometimes I think I do it, so they can't hurt me first. I don't know, I need to figure it out, because I want a true transformation from the inside out. It's becoming less important to me what I look like, even what I feel like and more important who I truly am at the core of my being. I know the real me is a loving, soft spoken, gentle soul and the meanness, harshness, rudeness, the anger and the urge to pick a fight are fake parts of me that I need to shed. They no longer have a place in my life or heart. I want to love my family and myself, I want to build them up, not tear them down. So far I have mostly worked on my physical transformation, but what I truly desire is a spiritual transformation, healing at the soul level. My personal belief is that my soul is comprised of my body and my spirit. A whole soul in my eyes is a perfectly unified body and spirit. I've been working much more on my body than my spirit. All the physical work has positively affected my spirit, yet I know that's where I have the real work to do and where my focus must lie right now and forever. I desire to walk with God and deepen my relationship with my Savior. I crave His love and forgiveness. I search for safety in the hollow of His hand and for direction in His will for me. Juliane

For the past decade a shift in my life has taken place and Becoming aware of my use of words and how they dramatically affect me throughout my daily live has always been at the forefront of my journey. I took a day over the weekend to log down the words that I held in my head while in an awakened state throughout my regular routine. What I found was amazing to me! Let me share – you see we, as humans, label objects with words to describe the object for recall when utilizing our brains during the though process. Being careful to BE present will open up the minds ability to BE present and AWARE of our thoughts and allow us to let go of the ego that drives us to BE in our lives and BE PRESENT. My words started off in this order: Fresh, Alive, Worthy, Abundant, Strong, Focused, Determined, Champion, Cardio, School, Future, Career, Family, Love, Friendship, Appreciation, Gratitude, Success, and Admiration. I spent the day each hour writing down my words about every 45 minutes. I was so at peace with what I had written down. Even in a moment where my five year old was being difficult and crying about a situation that she was not pleased with – I captured the word LOVE in my mind and held it there to embrace that moment with her, and help her through the process. In the end we evoked laughter at her silliness to be so stubborn and want what she wanted – I AM A SUPERWOMAN and I AM PROUD OF WHO I AM and WHERE I AM IN THIS MOMENT – IN THIS JOURNEY – IN THIS PRESENT.

From a Limiting Phrase...to a Limitless Phrase: I'm going to... I AM. I've got to...I get to. I'm feeling sick...I'm feeling the places in my body that are well. This is hard...This is challenging me. I'm afraid...I'm changing my perception. I'm fat...I'm juicy! I'm full of energy and love myself enough to work out! I'm getting old... I'm transforming, when I'm 90, I'll still be active!!! I loved this assignment!

What a powerful exericise! Cant wait to do it! Shari!

This assignment was what I needed right now at this point in my life. So I did it, a whole day making note of the words I was using. What is funny is before I even read this assignment I was realizing that I was becoming more aware of what I was saying and trying harder to filter the words I was using. The biggest filter I realized I was using was a direct result of what God asks Christians to do in the bible, are you using words to build others up or tear them down. This applies to myself as well as to others and recently I have been very aware of what I have been thinking and saying to others and about myself. I have always had a tendancy to do this being a teacher. I find myself often telling my students to think about what they say to others, and point out to them that if it is not helpful then they shouldn't say it. I need to go further and if it is not helpful then I should try not to think it, which would be the same as making it "unauthorized." I have noticed different areas in my life where I think different words. When working out the other day I noticed the following words popping into my head, push harder, don't quit, should have been doing this along time ago, bump it up a notch, also I noticed slow down, it's okay to just do a little bit, relax, take it easy. Going over these words I think I view my work out time and thoughts as pretty balanced as I listen to my body (thanks to Rachel reminding me to do this!!). All these words I feel are working for me and helping me transform. Driving in the car I notice the use of different words, get out of my way, what is wrong with you, move it, go go go, you stink as a driver, your oblivious to anything around you. Wow these words are not working for me. They make me angry and are not at all a reflection of who I want to be. The need to be "unauthorized". I need to be more patient, calm, and loving. They don't make me feel good so they should not be included in my thinking. Right after I think them I know it and am working harder to stop this. With my students at school and the people I work with I have found myself saying thank you, your great, you made my day, help me please I really need it, your amazing, your inspiring, get to work, stop playing around, are you doing your best, are you trying your hardest, your really thinking, your showing a caring heart. All the words I use at work with students and co-workers are working for me. I feel joy and feel a sense of purpose and that I am reaching out and truly helping others and bringing joy to my own heart with what I think and say at work. With my own kids I know if I had done this assignment 10 weeks ago the list of words here would be mostly negative but now I can honestly say there are way more positives than before because of this transformation. The other day I used, I love you, your showing a heart for Jesus, your showing a caring heart, your the best, your the greatest, I am happy to see you, what is the matter, talk to me, your special. I have also told my kids, your not listening, your not helping, your not showing your good heart, your being naughty, your going to sit by yourself, your to do what I say. But these words are working for me and are consistant and show love now, rather than anger and frustration. Towards my husband I have used I love you, thank you for helping me, your the best, your a great father, you made me angry, you lied to me, your stressing me out. So some of these words are working and some aren't. My view of myself now has gone way beyond the physical transformation now. Yes I am losing a lot of weight, gaining muscle, and looking better. But I FEEL BETTER, and have so much more to give. The words I use should reflect that. And nothing stood out more for me than when I had my job interview for the new school near my house last week. I had to use words to tell about myself, and I had so much to say. I have so much to offer. I am a great teacher, a great coworker and I let the new principal know all this about me and when I was done, I am certain she felt the same way about me that I do now. So I will continue to use positive words and positive thoughts to continue to transform. This was a great assignment. Katie B.

This assignment was very interesting and challenging to work through, but I’m so glad that I was able to get a chance to complete this. When I went back and looked at the words that I wrote down I thought I would see a lot of negative or not so positive words, but since I started this Transformation it is amazing what a change that is occurring. The words I’ve come up with are strong, happy, well balanced, very motivated, energized, positive thinking, peace with myself, happy inside and out. If I were to have done this assignment weeks ago my life was filled with negativity and no determination. But this change has been amazing and my journey has only started. Look out world here is the new me. -John

This assignment was very enlightening for me. I actually monitored my words for a week. I suspected that I would see different "trends" in the various parts of my life so I figured a week would be good. WOW!! I found that when discussing hobbies, dreams, goals and most things not work related I usually use positive words. The occassional "I can't" pops up and words like: frustrating, inpatient, ugly come up as well. They aren't often but they were repeated in the course of a week. When it came to work related conversations I found something interesting: I use phrases like: I will do that. I'm happy to help. I prefer. I think that is because last year I was in a bad place with work: I thought about quitting even without another job. The work is wonderful but the organizational culture is not so great. But in December (before I even knew about Transformaton) I took a good, hard look at the entire situation and discovered that part of the problem was my attitude. Once I accepted it, I adjusted my attitude and things improved. I also recognized that I needed to ask for a change and after discussing my concerns with my boss I was assigned a new project for 2009 and that helped tremendously. Okay, so, my biggest challenge with my words is related to the toxic people in my life. I've taken steps to reduce my time with them but I still give them power to impact me as I found when monitoring my words. Common words when I spend time with one of those people or they even come up in conversation: angry, sad, tired, frustrated, can't, conflict. The toxic people are robbing me of my positive energy and I am letting them. Since my word discovery, I've taken some steps to reduce this: I've accepted that several of these toxic people are just not needed in my life. These aren't people going through a rough time who need a friend to lean on--these are people who have a long history of being negative and toxic. One of the toxic people, my mom, will always be part of my life. I have decided, however, to limit her influence over me. I've also started cutting short conversations that involve the subject of her. Overall, I see that I need to recognize that behavior is mostly a choice. This is what I mean: if someone asks me to meet them at Friendly's for lunch I previously said "I can't" due to my healthy life style. Now, I would say "I prefer not to because I want to continue with my healthy approach to life." Also, I need to take back the power over my emotions. Anger is a wasted emotion and I need to "let it go." I plan to re-do this assignment during my last week of the challenge. I plan to see changes in my word choices!

So, I go through assignment 12b today. To this point I've done a great job as far as eating right and exercising. That part was easy. But this assignment really made me take a hard look at what's going on in my brain. Here's a little background on me, and where some of my words come from. I've been very stressed out lately. I like a lot of other people am currently laid off from one of the Big three Automakers. I transfered from Oklahoma to Chicago thinking it was good move. So, I come up here, and they're laying us off every two months, and then last November... Indefinate layoff. Then the whole economy thing hits. Not many days go by that I don't stress about the imediate future of me and my family. I've got a humungus house payment for a house back home that hasn't sold in almost 2 years! I'm not trying to get anyone to feel sorry for me, I'm just showing the frame of mind I'm in when I did my assignment. There's times when Life feels so heavy that I would just get floored by stress. But If I give myself something to do to keep busy (Like T-form), I focus more on what I need to do than what I can't control. I'm a positive person with others. The clown smiling on the outside, right? But there's time's when I blow up. The kids get yelled at more than I would like to admit. Then I feel like crying for yelling at them. So, I made my word lists, Angry popped up a lot, Anxious, Worried, future? Quit, where some of my more notable negative words. I also realzied the other day that I have dent where someone hit me in the parking lot, so Angry was probably more like Angry X 550. But after I said bad words in my head I decided I would Forgive whoever did it. Two reasons 1. I'll never see that person, and 2. It's just a car, it still runs. But my list wasn't all bad words and Anger. I did find some positive words. I'm making Note cards and putting them up where I see these positive words every morning. They Include: Don't Quit, Play, Push, Sunny, Proud, Relieved, Warm, Don't Stop, Forgiveness, Flattered, Nice Day. We had some 60 degree sunny days, that's where Nice Day and Sunny Came from, But I'm keeping them in mind every day, cause even if it's a rainey day, you can still keep it sunny in your Mind.

Bill, this past summer I half-heartily did this challenge and didn’t complete this assignment. I wish I had! I couldn’t believe my thoughts! Immediately after reading the assignment I jotted down ten thoughts…eight were negative! My first thought was I am a fraud. I have been feeling this way for a while and amazingly by God’s grace He so clearly explained it to me at church today. I had been uncovering bits and pieces through this challenge but today I had a break through. We are studying about “my circle;” That being the people that we influence. Pastor shared from John 4:7 about the Samaritan woman at the well. He shared how Jesus approached people intentionally, personally, tactfully, and confidently. I found that I struggle in all areas but what He said about confidence rocked my world! The whole point of this sermon series is to get us to expand our circle of influence and to share Christ with our circle. He said how can we go tell others what Christ has done for us when we are still carrying around all of our junk! If Christ saved us, why are we still carrying it all around like the unsaved? How can we sell what we don’t believe? Ouch! That one hurt. I thought, I do believe it so why do I still carry this junk around! Christ did save me! He has changed me! Why do I constantly have this battle going on inside of me? I have to fully trust Him! Fully give Him control! It was amazing. I suddenly could see my whole life in a different way. When discussing “tactfully,” he talked about how Jesus didn’t condemn her but he complimented her on telling the truth about her five husbands and her current situation. I felt my shame being lifted in that moment! God already knows the truth about me so I have nothing to hide! When Pastor was sharing about “Intentionally,” he said you have to decide to do it…hmm…sounds familiar? He also said we have to get past man-made barriers. The barriers that are in front of me, that are in my mind, that hold me back are all man-made! I am letting man control my life and not fully giving my life to God! Yikes! Not anymore!!!! I am making a true transformation from the inside out! I am so thankful for what you are doing and for God’s perfect timing in all of this! I was beating myself up over my book project but you know what is so fascinating…my book is about my journey with Christ and my journey is really getting interesting!!!! I am no longer looking at it as something I have to accomplish but as what God intended for His purpose! I felt called to write this book but I didn’t feel equipped before but God is providing just as He promised! Enjoying the journey, Brenda

Well here I go Bill. I have started a new job and the "Power Words" that I have used during the course of 24 hours and (every day) are as follows. Smile......Greet everyone with a smile to start the day in the right frame of mind. Create..... Create a better enviroment to work in. Build.....Build a relationship of trust between each other and customers. Lead......Lead not follow. Teach others to become leaders. Knowledge...... Help others to learn products and to know what they are talking about. Admiration.......Become the person others admire and respect and look up to for advise and leadership. Recognition..... Recognize others for a job well done with a pat on the back or words of encouragment. Attention......Pay close attention to what you say and do, it will effect you and everyone around you. "Say what you mean and mean what you say." Be ready to back it up. Reach out.......Reach out a helping hand even if it is not your job, learn to help others who are struggling with learning there job or other problems they may be having.. Listen.......Listen to what others have to say and act on it, no matter how small it may seem don't just shrug it off. It may be important to them. Observe......Observe the things around you, is everything in order, is the day going as planned, is the task you set forth complete. Is someone having a bad day. Think......Give thought to the day before it ends. Did I create, build, lead, recognize, teach, pay attention, reach out, listen, observe and last but not least did I "smile". By compleating this assignment I have realised that these "Power Words" should be used every day in my Work, Transformation, Relationship and with my Family. I know that with my new job I have been "slacking" on my transformation. Putting in 10 to 11 hours a day and coming home at night dead tired, it has been a real challenge to get in my exercise and nutrition. I'm hoping that once I get everything set up I can cut back on my hours and get back to normal. This assignment has been a real eye opener for me and I know that it will make me a better person and will help me to move forward in my Transformation to become a "Hero". Thanks Bill for giving me the opportunity to "Change" my life and my body. John

Bill: This is a great assignment ! To me this is a ponder assignment as well because I spend a lot of time alone while my husband is traveling so my thoughts are constant because I am alone right now, but being alone right now gives me time to actually do this assignment and discover what's underneath. I've made a lot of inner changes because I am not angry and not of heavy heart, but I have yet to actually put those words on paper. It's kind of like seeing the before pictures. Although we know they are going to be pretty bad, we really don't have a clue until we actually see the pictures. Tomorrow is a day outside for me to climb the incline again and since I have to take a break quite often, this exercise will fit in perfectly. It will be interesting to see how I feel about getting up and tackling this feat again now that I know how hard it is. My mind is already starting to fight with me. I even thought "it might snow!" The battle of the sub and conscious are already at work. We'll see who wins, what thoughts get me to the base of the incline and what words of experience I can actually put to paper. I have become more positive since this process started and have let go of a lot of negative, we'll see who wins out tomorrow when the tough gets going. Thanks

This has been so great and such a change from the "tapes" I have played in my head over the years. I'm so much more compassionate toward myself now and all the words tossing about in my head throughout my test day [a relaxed Saturday...maybe I should have done a weekday ;) ] were overwhelmingly good. My words to others were positive and I really strive to be encouraging with my words and purposeful with my words at this point in my challenge...it's coming very natural to me. My sweet daughter, just 30 minutes ago, broke one of my good plates while loading dishes...she was nervous about telling me, as before I'd have been REALLY disappointed and with that disappointment made her feel awful. No such thing today, I just rubbed her shoulder said we'd save it for a mosaic project I want to do one day. It felt so good to not even feel upset by a broken dish, knowing I could have broken her sweet spirit for the day. The transformation is sticking, down deep...it's REAL!!!!!!! I've also stopped internally berating myself for silly errors and getting down on myself for my character flaws. My list was something like this: beautiful, happy, accomplish, laundry, chores, love, savor, thankful, what's next, HIIT, work first play later, I'm so blessed, lets do it, love, busy, DOMS=Yay!, vision focus, yes, relax, reflect, deadlines, happy, peaceful...okay, so now you've seen a glimpse of what it looks like in my head on a Saturday!!!!!

Assignment 12B: As I did this 24 hr review I realized that there were words I was using that I encourage my son or wife not to use just because they sound too negative. I like to keep everything positive and i am a "glass is half full" type of guy who tries to look at the world with a postive spin. But some words I was using were not so positive, and here are a few of them: Don't do that, Stop doing that, No, you can't, I don't think we can do that, We can't d that, Your room is disgusting-clean it up, no, never, not now Tyler you will have to wait, It's not all about you. You can do better than that (just the tone difference in that one makes it negative).... And then I saw the Positive side of the words and concntrated on how I should talk all of the time with my family and friends, and here are the words that I used: Yes we can, You will win, I will win, you tried hard and succeeded, We can both do that--I'm sure of it, I love you, I love you both, come and give me a hug/kiss, God bless you both, Have a great day, you are a good boy, I am proud of you, I love you buddy, your the best, You are my wife--my friend and my support, and I love you for that!!! You two are the best thing that ever happened to me!!!!! By stopping and realizing what is said I was able to make a concentrated effort on "what words" came out of my mouth. And I feel the second part of this section I love much more--that's the type of person I know I am, and could be forever!!! Bill, Thank you for this excersice, once again you make us realize our full potential as human beings and with the lords help I will continue on this path. Thank you, Brian

As I did this assignment, I was surprised that a lot of my negative words, the tone, pitch, and loudness of my words were directed toward my children. As a father of four, the home is in constant motion. Children want to be entertained 24/7 and its not easy being a parent, but its truely rewarding. As I share these words, I will include the names also of those I directed the words toward: Negative Tone:-20 Evan, NO! Owen, stop, go away! Get out of here and just leave me alone! Stop! Stop your whining! Owen, out of the garbage Your driving me crazy! Stop thrashing the house! Pick up your clothes! No, No! Hey Hey, can you please STOP IT! Can you not just keep the house clean! I hate changing diapers, why do I always have to do it? Oh come on! You guys! EVAN! Be nice! OWEN! Just stop, leave that alone! AVERY! Stop your crying EMILY, your the big sister, set the example! Come on dude, stop asking for something to drink! This is hard Positive Tone:-21 Hello my beautiful family! Good morning! Today is a great day! I love you! I will help you Hey buddy! Your a good boy! Owen, your a good boy! I am so proud of you! Your doing awesome! Great job! This is wonderful! I am so proud! You can do it! Thumbs up!!! Yes! Good job! Love you Come here honey, give me hugs! Your a go getter Avery, you can do it! Avery, look at you! Your doing a great job! Emily, your very outgoing, beautiful, and very smart. I love you Your not shy, your a leader Avery! Which words are working for you? Are there some power words you want to speak and write even more often? And, are there words you see that are working against you? If so, take a pen and cross them out to symbolically indicate that they are “unauthorized.” Words working for me: beautiful love great can will yes thumbs up wonderful good I will awesome proud Words not working for me NO STOP Get out Leave me alone Your doing (this) to me... Hate I always have to do...

“24 Hour Word Review” Motivated - Thoughts of knowing GOD loves me through thick and thin, in addition to mother and transformation challengers here helps to keep me feeling this way, thus “being the change” Content - Prayer to change the content and softening up of my heart. Thoughtful of others - As more positive energy builds inside, reciprocation of sharing it with others in offering kind words to help her or him propel ahead makes me feel good when I think of dropping by their profile and supporting them. Hope - Weight loss and transformation has helped these feelings kick in again. Revitalization - Failure is success inverted. Growth - Long overdue, and a long time coming. Seeing a small stint of light ahead is propelling me to press on smarter. A New Beginning - With a new body in the making comes silent and golden opportunity Relationships - How I can be a better son and show my mother a more humble side in her days of retirement. Command Respect - Allowing my presence , and physique along in humility without a word coming out of me encourage people to show respect. Love - Daily progress in accomplishing a positive goal helps more of this to flow freely inside.

Since this particular assignment requires a different pattern of thinking & jotting down thoughts in a 24 hour period and it's 10:36 p.m. now as I'm typing this, I'll gladly complete this assignment 12B tomorrow, because I desire to be forthcoming with my answers to this assignment, not just jotting down any ole thing and submitting it, because it's late and just wanting to get through it :-) With love, Shawn

I was reading a book called "Your Sacred Self" by Wayne Dyer which describes the part of you that is the "witness." This should be an intereting process to witness. The thoughts I have at work will probably be the biggest challenge. Robin

Here are my words for today. I won't put them all, just the more strongly negative and positive ones. This was quite a surprising exercise! I didn't expect exactly these words! More negative: lonely x3, restless x4, bored x3, wandering mind, anxious, alone, uncertain, uncomfortable More positive: interested, searching, relaxed x3, excited x2, curious, growing, creative, positive, refreshed, proud x2, recovering, aware I love the positive words! They look great down there in writing. THe negative ones don't feel so good that's for sure! I don't like seeing bored or lonely on there. I didn't expect them to be so popular! It is my intention to do something about those very soon. I guess that really indicates it's time! I don't like seeing alone there either...I'm a little surprised too. I'd like to see proud more often. I should feel more proud of what I've achieved! And excited - that's definitely worth feeling more of. Growing too - let's focus on that!

Hi Bill! Words are so powerful and alive - I am looking forward to completing this exercise, and to learn more about how I think so I can pull out any 'unauthorized' verbage, and multiply that which bears good fruit! THank you!!! Love MaryPat

This is an exciting assignment. I try to stay positive but I know I'm not always successful, it will be interesting to see how much negative gets through. It should make me even more aware of my negative thoughts

I just had to come back and tell you what a difference this little lesson has made in my life. I never taught kickboxing before and my boss asked me if I could take her class so she didn't have to teach twice in one day. The old me, would have said, I don't know how, I never did that before, I don't know if I can, I would have had to be talked into it and then worried until the time came to do it. Instead, I said sure, no problem glad to help out. she was happy and I walked out the door saying, was that me that just said that, lol I never worried about it, i never practiced, I never thought for once I couldn't do it or why did I say yes. I went in Tuesday night, got all set up and said to the students, Ya'll ready for some fun, this is my 1st kickboxing class so I may be a little different then Cindy but I promise you will get a well rounded workout. I taught the class had everyone sweatin and after they came and said I did great and one girl said I'm glad you are taking over this class I like your style, WOW< I was florred and on cloud 9 at the same time. It's the new ME! Love, LInda

lookin thru all my journal and "stuff" i am checkin to see if i transferred my assignements to here..i see that this assignment i did not transfer from my written journal. i did this. in 24 hours i stopped at regular intervals and wrote down my thoughts/feelings. I am feeling so positive towards life that alot of my words were positive and uplifting and motivating."happy, alive, full, singing songs, smiling at the clouds in the sky, spending time on the phone with friends sharing laughs, snuggling with my dogs and cat, thin...progressing although not perfectly...i am in process and its working. i love love love my life right now. its the best ever. i really, for the first time in my life, had to look very hard to find the negatives. oh, they were still there...but not like before...now they are just sort of whispering in the background. "youre not good enough" "what do you think you are doing that is so great?" "its not enough" and then there is the relational negativity that sweeps in from time to time with my daughter and her marriage and its high stress-ness. i need to learn how to back away from it and control what i can control and just let "the universe"..God, and them work it out. that is my area i need to surrender completely....healthy for me and healthy for them. so there....that is what i wrote in my pen and ink journal. bless you Bill...i am amazed at the changes in my life.

I can not believe it has taken me this long to write on this assignment. I performed this exercise a month ago. I did what Bill said not to do. I put this aside. Two weeks later I went and grabbed the sheet I wrote my “24 hour word review” on to reflect. Today I finally got down to writing my thoughts on the exercise. Most of the words I wrote down are positive. I wrote down words like persevere, accomplished, keep pushing forward, smiling, feel awesome, progressing, and way to go. There were some negative words. I noticed that most of those were influenced by people around me. Some of the words that were negative were I will do it later, it can wait, don’t, won’t, can’t, and hate doing. I noticed that most of the time I am positive. I am least positive when I tired or feel stressed. I am working on watching what words I use when I am tired or stressed. I had no idea how much it can change your mood when you use positive words and say them out loud. I also had no idea how much how the words said by those around us can affect us. If those around me were negative I began to use negative words or if they were positive I would use positive words. I have worked on watching my words. It is hard and a work in progress. When I work out I try to make sure that nothing but positive words are thought or said. I noticed I have more energy and can go longer when I use positive words. I also have been working on making sure I do not let the words of those around me effect me. If someone is being negative I speak back to them using positive words and I smile while using the positive words. It works most of the time. The times I found it not to work was when they were not listening, or they were not listening because all they wanted was to give their point across. I am amazed at how powerful this exercise is. I hope many get to try this exercise.

Wow...spectacular exercise. I really began looking at my words a while ago and what this has done for me has STOPPED me from arguing for my/any limitations....What is soooo powerful is when you are conscious of what you are creating with your vocabulary, you make sure the words that come out of your mouth are powerful! Great exercise...Gogogo! Joe

Bill, this is going to be a hard one for me.I tend to have a lot of negative thoughts. I'm not giving myself enough credit.I've made it this far,changes are happening.I'll do my best on this assignment and grow a little more. Jerryb

OK...I reviewed my blogs and I forgot to post this assignment. I don't know if I did it right but here goes: The positive thoughts were focus, strong, happy, elated, thrilled and thankful. The negative thoughts were....I won't do it, dread, not again, can we get it right just once. My positive thoughts were at the “crack of dawn” before, during and after my workouts and again in the evenings when I am winding down and reflecting. I realized that all my negative thoughts were throughout the day at the office. I work in an IT department and it can be very stressful and this day was. My negative seems rebellious and a “give up” attitude. It probably stems from listening to my co-workers venting (including myself). We are feeding off of each other negativity. What I have learned is negative thoughts hinders productivity. It prevents you from moving forward towards a solution and that is what happened that day. Since then, I check myself before I even utter a thought out loud or to myself. Instead I say…look at the big picture; what is really the issue and then work towards a resolution.

I couldn't believe how many negative thoughts I was having. It just blew me away. I know what an impact mind has over matter, and now I'm going to be mindful of it, even more so. Because it really, really matters. Thank you, Bill, with all my heart. The past is gone. NOW is all there is.

I get this, as i am usually quick to dismiss negative thoughts as i know that is wasted energy. ok yes i have bad days--usually blame hormones, well i am a women ha ha!! I love to day dream, wonder off into my thoughts then analyse them. Strangely i never feel alone, me, myself and i are good company. I will try this though, my spirit will record my mind--interesting!!

Positive Thoughts equal Positive Results....I do believe in this. I am just now getting to this exercise, but it is Sunday, and I am choosing this as my 24 hour day. I can't wait until tomorrow to see how it all goes!!!!!

#12b, Mindfulness, The Way Out is Up, 24 Hour Review Hi Bill, We all seem to be struggling with this exercise, judging from the number of people who have completed it. I did the 24 hour word review immediately upon reading it, but it has taken me this long to sift through the information and find some meaning, let alone a positive direction to take with the information I've received. POSITIVE WORDS - good . great . awesome . happy . joyful . lucky . fortunate . creative . blessed . genuine . love . gratefulness . NEW!!!! . enjoy . beauty . express . communicate goodness . have fun! . just do it . get it done . that girl (my best version) can do anything . with God's help, I can do anything . how can I make this more fun? . workouts make me feel clean . I'm melting! . know . bright . intense . vibrant . alive . fulfilled NEGATIVE WORDS - afraid . NOT enough . what if I let someone down . if I don't start, I don't fail . dirty . tired . exhausted . later - I'll do it later . fear . not right now . maybe later . too tired . I feel like I want to die . i don't have time . this is too hard . lack . no . fail . I don't . not . mess . chaos . old . frumpy . overwhelmed . don't know . ignore . ignorant . dark . avoid pain MINDFULNESS - Well, when I look objectively at the lists above, I can see one positive thing right off. My positive list is longer. At least a little. And I think, to be absolutely truthful, that positive list is more often in my head. However, also in keeping with honesty, the negative list is heavier. It weighs dreadfully on me and drags me down, away from the best version of myself. The 4 hardest words for me to face were "ignore" and "don't know" and "later". IGNORE - "i" means without, "gno" means to know or knowledge, when the word ignore was created, the literal meaning was to do without knowledge. It meant the doing of ignorance. OUCH! It hurts to have that word so strongly in my vocabulary and not to even have realized it. Of course, "don't know" is connected in the same low way. LATER - I use this when I want to "ignore" something. When I stuff away unpleasant emotions, or events or potential pain. This word is the most debilitating in my vocabulary. Since we cannot do all things "now", I need to commit a time to complete things I typically file in the "I'll do it later" category. My life is important enough that I need to learn to use "I plan to complete it" instead of "later". Sending goodness and love to my friends here today, Debby

WOW! EYE OPENER...YIKES...OUCH!! I thought I was a pretty positive person...until I did this exercise...School is really tough right now and I had some health issues this week...and my mouth and mind were full of fear and negativity the day I did this. I said alot of CAN'Ts and WHAT IF I FAIL.. etc...REDO...REDO!!!! Let's try this again!! (At least in doing this exercise, I was able to be conscious about my words/thought patterns...even if it was after they escaped my lips. ) THis has made me much more conscious of my thoughts words...And honestly..because of it, I've used positive talk the last two days when I've caught myself starting the negativity. Initially it was, "How in the heck am I gonna get through 255 Med/Surg? This is SO HARD"..I changed it to, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I can do this. I will conquer it." Instead of dwelling on some negative things going on with my health, I started thanking God for his healing power, and thanking him for all the things that are going right with my body. So...I am conscious that I am a positive person when things aren't as stressful, but I realize that I've given myself permission to be negative when I'm overstressed. I REALIZE THROUGH THIS EXERCISE, THAT ISN"T MY BEST. I am excited about facing this challenge. I'm excited that I can see where I need to improve and that I DO have the ability to change my thought patterns! I'll do this again soon..and let you know the results.

Thanks for the assignment, Bill! "They" say our minds speak to us at about 800 wpm. THAT'S A LOT OF WORDS! I'm aware of some patterns of negative wordology floating in my head and on those "rough" days, chances are I wasn't being very mindful. Likewise, when words such as "love", "help", "beautiful", "growth", "be", "warm", etc. are springing up, chances are I participated in a wonderful day. So I'll grab the notebook and start this assignment.

This week, especially Monday, was very stressful. Suffice it to say, it was one of those days that you don't want to re-live. On Tuesday, I was talking to one of my co-workers and she reminded me that since I had been praying for wisdom to do my job and protection for our clients and staff, that perhaps Monday's trial were answered prayers. MAJOR THUMP ON THE HEAD.....YES, LORD, I HEAR YOU. See, it is all in how you look at it. I did grow leaps and bounds in knowledge (and hopefully wisdom) from Monday's experiences. Plus, who is to know, whether some of the things that transpired, didn't serve to answer the second part of my prayers. So, again, I am reminded that in all things, be thankful. It is finding that half FULL cup vs. a half EMPTY one. Bill, this exercise was timed perfectly for me....conincidence....no, I don't think so. So, now when I catch myself with a negative thought, I quickly access, and turn it positive. Am I struggling? Certainly, but it is part of the change within and I am making progress.

I am excited and open to this exercise. Having never looked at my inner dialogue at this level, am looking forward to getting honest with myself. Thank you Bill :)

Bill, Thank you for this exercise. It is a great action to gain active control of the thoughts in our minds. In all reality, the words we speak really stem from our hearts. Jeannine

Well - I read this one the other day and I have been sub-consciously avoiding it! I know that for a few days I had slipped back into old negative self talk - and I was even beating myself up about that. Part of the journey - I'm letting go and Letting God - and I get to do this exercise - so - no more avoidence - I'm not running away - I am taking hold and accepting. Commitment made - challenge accepted - Thank you - Love - Light and Gratitude - Jaki :)

Bill, this is a tough but fun and revealing exercise. I'm going to give it a go starting Thursday morning. Many lives are changing because you have chose to share your wisdom and expertise with us. Thank you!!! ~~~~~Brian~~~~~

Still working on this today and I have to say that it has been a VERY eye opening experience. I am most definately seeing a pattern of some VERY specific words I use, but the BEST thing I have seen so far today is the word HAPPY! OMG, I have struggled for so long with PPD and then just plain ol' depression that the word HAPPY appearing several times today is totally AWESOME and I am so glad to see it. It really brings a smile to my face when I read through my list and see that word.

Working on assignment 12b, my findings so far I already knew that I have a lot of self negative talk. I have learned that it's really hard to write it all down and I don't like seeing just how bad it is, even though I already know it's a problem with me. So, along with this assignment, I am making sure that I write down one positive thing about myself for each negative thing I write. My power words so far are: can't, won't, don't deserve, hate, and ugly. On the flip side, I also have a few positive power words, which are: can, love, and proud. I was happy to at least start seeing a FEW postive words in there and I really like the ones I see because they are strong words, which means I have the capability to be strong. Oh wow, I guess that I can now add capable and strong to my positive list, since I just wrote those two down .

I was stuck out-of-state for two weeks with no internet access and little cell service (I had to excavate two possible burials in Nevada). I had no gym or equipment, so I would jog in place for 20 minutes and do body training (no weights either) each day. What a great assignment to come home to!! With the start of week 10 yesterday, it was time to re-evaluate my workouts and my focus. This assignment will allow me to figure out what my real objectives are...although I would like those objectives to include losing the final 10 pounds down to 129! Sylvia

Bill this work is so awesome and I believe it is a life time of work Always growing and be mindful!! It really helped me during and after my own Transformation and on going Transformation!! Great job again Bill! Marty

This is going to be fun (I think :) and very interesting! I like detecting bad pattern that I'm not aware of, and changing them can really make your life change a lot. I've heard that for every negative thought you have, you must have SEVEN positive thoughts just to even it out, because the negatives goes deeper emotionally. So I would love to cross some of my negative thoughts out from my thinking-patterns. I only want to have positives left, that is one of my goals :)

wow , this is a wake up call, I never realized how my mood changes from hour to hour from Nevative to positive thanks Bill,this is a great exercise! I'm not only learning about myself but having fun doing it too GET*HER*DONE LINDA

Bill you carry so much wisdom... I'm in awe. Thank you for the challenge

The Awesome Power of Words - 24 Hour Word Review I started on this assignment yesterday afternoon (9/19/08) and carried on throughout the day today (9/20/08). I did not realize the velocity and gravity that unspoken words ran through a person's mind. It was almost dizzying at times....sometimes they were all positive and sometimes all negative, and I found sometimes they were inter-mingled. So here below are my results. I really am not even sure I did the exercise totally correctly. Each of these words came with thoughts, but I chose the Power Words in each thought.. Most of the words were in my mind many times throughout the 24 hour time period but I just wrote them down once each.... Excited, Love, Feeling Great, Together, Nothing To Wear, Late, Always, Embarassed, Fat, Why, Exercising, Losing Weight, Lazy, Can, Will, Priorities, It's Time To, Hopeful, No Mask, Afraid, Need To Be, Should, Transforming, Changing, Sexy, Winning, Truth, Focus, Proud, Too Hard, Depressed, Never, Accepting, Healthy, Strength, Motivated, Powerful, Crazy, Tired, Potential, Grateful, Becoming, Positive, New, Progress, I am glad that I had many more positives than negatives...that is a change from 9 weeks ago. I made the list in my journal and I am going to be more aware of what I am thinking. This was an awesome exercise and taught me that I really need to focus on removing the negatives from haunting my mind. . love and hugs :) tim

Hello Bill! You really got my attention with this one. As a long time student and teacher of A.C.I.M the idea of observing the observer is familiar to me. You’re truly a gentleman and scholar bringing this idea to the broader consciousness and to the benefit of all of us interested in being all we can be within our own individual experiences of being part of the greater physical world. I agree that the “observer” in my mind is outside my brain and physical body; in fact, my “spiritual self” even transcends my psychological personality at the deepest levels of human understanding. A.C.I.M is similar to the highest teachings of Hinduism and this I have come to accept slowly over many years of study. This assignment is difficult because we are not accustomed to taking the perspective of the “observer” and great discipline is required to observe ourselves hour by hour even for a single day. I’ll do my best on this one and get back to you; thank you again for being a great inspiration for all of us and for thinking outside the box. Steve

I never thought to listen to the words coming from within. Should be a great assignment and I should learn more about me. Thanks Bill

Mr. Phillips, you are amazing indeed Sir. You quote the Bible, you are versed also in the knowledge of the Sanskrit writting...you are truly a man of many facets. I need the meditation exercise, my day start at 5:30 a.m. and can go till 1:00 a.m. My mind at the end of the day is full of mind chatter from my job and all that is needed to be completed by the deadlines!! I'am constantly hearing in my mind "Im going to...I'am going to...I have to do...I have to do... how much time...how much time...etc...etc.... This exercise is much needed....I have to find the balance...

Thanks, Bill. You've always come across to me as a caring individual and this assignment really highlights that you care about our "total" transformation and not just a temporary fitness fix. Looking forward to this. God's blessings. -Larry

I think this is a great exercise. My pastor, who is also a life coach, is always talking about this very thing. The one thing that has always bothered me though about what most preach from the pulpit or some you see on tv are those who teach "denial". I believe in transforming our mind, I believe we need to live by faith and think by faith. But I think too many people try and tell others to deny their negative circumstances instead of facing the fact and then believing God will get them to the other side of that fact. Of course, applying the word and believing it in your heart and mind is part of that. I think that sometimes it can be an excuse for people not to connect with others. For example, with my niece and nephew who were both missing part of their brains, had seizures, blind, had to be fed through a feeding tube, couldn't speak, etc. You could not deny their condition. My sister believed God for a miracle yet my neice passed away in March. My nephew is still with us but unless God does a miracle they don't expect him to live much longer. If my sister had denied their condition and not took care of them and just said, "You can swallow." and never suctioned them then they would have died. I believe in miracles and I have been healed myself and I don't understand why some are healed and some are not. But I never once denied my trial. I believed God would move on my behalf and I expected great things in my heart - but I went through the process. Sometimes screaming in the middle of the night cuz if pain, sometimes crying because I couldn't feed myself of dress myself and when I was told I would get hardly any money for the accident and that I would never use my arm again I cried, I freaked out because I didn't know what I would do for a living since I only knew the computer. God healed my arm, which to this day is a documented miracle. But it wasn't by me not feeling my emotions. It was by me facing them and believing God at His word to deliver me. I just wanted to say that because I think that some people get faith mixed up with denial. You are not having faith if you are denying you are believing for anything. Faith is saying, "I know I have it in my hands, it may not be here yet, but I have the substance of it in my hands." It is being committed to seeing God move. It is action based on what you believe. One more thing, I had a friend who has cancer and has fought the disease for 10 years. One day she was asking for prayer and that she had to go in for treatment. Someone said to her, "Don't say you have cancer" Don't speak that over yourself! Although I understand what they were trying to say this poor lady was really hurt because she felt she could not get prayer for what she was facing. We need to lift each other up and be careful how we communicate thinking and speaking positive. That person should have said, "We are believing that you are healed, let's speak healing, healthy over you daily." When you go to your appointment speak life, not death. Speak the word! Peace out! Aimee (aka Preachergal)

This reminds me of The Four Agreements too. It can be challenging to be impeccable with your words when speaking & writing but it is even more challenging to do the same with your thoughts. This will be a very good exercise to do! I love that you brought up the "Om". I just discovered that through yoga. We always leave a session with an Om and my instructor reminds us it is the sound in the wind, the river, the sea and everything around us. If you listen closely you can really hear it.

Dear Bill ~ What a great assignment. Maybe not the easiest one but one that can truly take us to another level. I know the rest of the world sees the changes we are making on the outside, but I'm really enjoying the transformation going on inside. Thanks for all your insight !! Cat

Thanks Mr. Phillips great post! Being disabled I have nothing but time and I'm ahead of the game here. I've been doing this exercise since day one. ~God bless~ Jerome

We so often get wrapped up our daily schedules that we forget to take time out for ourselves. We’ve all been doing much better in taking care of our bodies through exercise and eating right and that takes effort. Extra effort. But it’s well worth it as many of us are beginning to see physically and spiritually as we grow through these exercises. I know it’s tough to take a minute for ourselves when we all have busy schedules (getting kids to/from school, work, etc)… but I think it is imperative to our growth. Thanks Bill! Glad you're driving/guiding us on our journey! (c:]

Bill, When you wrote that "the way out is up; we can’t fix things by simply moving back and forth, side to side," it reminded me of Zig ZIglar who explained about TRAINING FLEAS... If you collect them in a jar they will jump and jump, hitting the lid of the container. Then after time passes they jump with less intensity and less and less.....until you can remove the lid altogether and they won't even try to jump anymore. Your quote made me also think about the need for holding a BELIEF that we have what it takes to achieve what we want to in this journey. Belief in possibility seems to fuel the consciousness. Like a hopeless flea that quits trying, people give up when they see no way out. Thank you for retraining our fleas. :+)

The power of words has been in my mind since "The Four Agreements", and is why I bought my ~focusing~ bracelet. Just touching it reminds me to be "...impeccable with my words", and I touch it often! This exercise will let me see how often in a day I deviate from that desire. Cool.

I love this assignment! I have so many positive words for today, I would like to share some of those. Excited- my daughter woke me up this morning to work out with me! She wants to do this every morning now! Wow! Thrilled - We finished re-doing our cabinet fronts today and I get to put things back in and get them organized. I also get to re-organize and put my kitchen, living room and workout/game room back together. I am so thrilled to have that all done! Prideful - My son moved out today into his apt., I wasn't sure how I was going to do, but as I watched him walk up to his neighbors and shake their hands and introduce himself, I saw a well mannered fine young man. I was so proud of him and I am confident he is going to be successful and a good husband to his girl, when they get married in March. He is so loving and caring and he isn't afraid to show it.. Grateful, I was so grateful when I ran out of gas on the fwy, I was able to safely get to the side, find a safe place to park, my son was quick to come and I was on time to pick up my girls from school. Blessed, I am so blessed. Blessed to be Transforming, blessed to be able to appreciate all the wonderful beautiful things and that I am now able to recognize those things. Amazing- amazing to think, this is just the beginning!! Happy- Happy that I have this community to share with! Thank you T-Family!!

Great Assignment! Words can make us or break us. Focusing on positive words is very beneficial for me as well as those around me. It's a win win situation! I have practiced turning negatives into positives quite frequently and it is an uplifting experience for everyone involved. I am excited about recording my power words. I love, love, love this! So far in this comment, my power words have been GREAT, CAN, FOCUSING, BENEFICIAL, POSITIVE, WIN, UPLIFT, EXCITED, LOVE X 3. "The greatest of these is LOVE." ~Kim : )

"This is one of my favorite exercises because it always gives me the opportunity to experience my spiritual self. You see, because we can observe the mind and its thoughts, and we can observe the body and its actions, objectively, it begins to become clear that our true nature is not confined to a body or a mind. As we move into our meditation exercises next week, we’ll revisit this idea again. And we’ll be ready to start asking some of the really fun questions like, “Who is doing the observing?” The way I see it, it wouldn’t be my body, so it seems very unlikely that I’m just a body. And since I can observe my thoughts, I can’t be just a mind. Who or what then is doing the observing? " I love, love, LOVE this paragraph ! Looking forward to doing this exercise early next week when I'm home again ... I've been practicing being a "Compassionate Witness" to my thougts for a while now; observing my thoughts and emotional reactions to them, creating more and more space between "stimulus" and "response" to insert "conscious decision" between the two - the pay off has been incredible ! Think of it as a Mother (Awareness) watching her Child (the Mind) playing with a toy (a Thought). If the toy is soft and cuddly (a positive or empowering thought) she is happy to let her child continue playing and can delight in his/her happiness. If it were a harmful toy (a negative or dis-empowering thought), say one that is wrapped in razors and barbed-wire, she would immediately step in and quickly, effectively remove it to out of harm's reach in a loving and non-startling manner for the child. It's amazing the impact it makes on all your relationships, especially the one with yourself :0)

Wow, this is crazy. The past two blogs I have written have essentially been about how powerful my words can be (and that can be a bad thing, depending on how I use them). Im anxious for this assignment!

Im in too..This is going to be great !!

That's great! Paying attention to your thoughts is a real challenge and it takes practice. When I was first in sales and learning I had a list of negative words taped to my phone that I consciously tried to avoid. Over a period of time I have come to absolutely despise words like can't, don't, won't and a host of others. It also works to start replacing the negative thoughts with good ones as your mind can only hold one single thought at a time. Over time you weed out the negativity and become more positive. I am still learning and growing but I look forward to this assignment. If I ever get a chance to talk to you I ll have to tell you about a similar assignment I did with my boss that changed the way I think for the better. All I will say for now is you CAN control your thoughts and you CAN train your mind to be uplifting, positive, empowering, and proactive. your inner self is always talking and there is always a dialogue in your mind going on, the trick is to learn to listen to it................................Thanks Bill.............................DUDE

Bill, This works real well with the game that my husband and I are playing as I mentioned in the assignment 12. We evaluate our day with each other and score ourselves. We are doing this for 30 days. The evening of the last day we celebrate together because we are BOTH winners for making the commitment to work on our transformation. Then all day the next day the person who had the highest points will be treated extra special that day. They will be shown how awesome they really are and just have fun with it. What is interesting, that I am finding for myself, is that I want and will have that transformation but even more so I want the lower points so I can show my husband how awesome he is. Don't miss understand we uplift each other all the time and we Let each other know how awesome the other one is but to lose this game would be great. (only by 1 point though) I could make that day so awesome for him. But we are both working to transform and have fun doing it. I hope I am making sense. Take care and CREATE an awesome day. Denise Our topics we evaluate I am sure we will add to them as we go: PRAYER TIME WITH GOD WHAT WE THINK AND SPEAK POSITIVE ATTITUDE EATING HEALTHY WORKOUT HONEST WITH OTHERS CREATED A CLEARING STEPPED OUT OF COMFORT ZONE SELFLESS COMPLIMENTING & MAKING OTHERS FEEL GOOD GRATEFUL AND FEELING BLESSED PEACEFUL FAITHFUL OVERALL DAY

I am so glad you have us doing this. I have been trying to become aware casually of my words. Specifically because I am so concerned these days with words I choose when addressing my son. I have learned so much about the effect I have allowed words to have on me all my life and want to be a positive force in his life. I have had a difficult time keeping track and no way to check myself so this exercise is the perfect way. Of course you already know that :) Thank You!

I love this. It gives me a sense of power to have an exercise to get my inner thoughts a check and balance. I am looking forward to this exercise. This reminds me of James Allen's "As a man thinketh" and Jim Rohn. I am excited about the intent that I am creating for my life in the universe. Thank you Bill for providing a pathway to lead us through this journey. God bless, Jeff

Dear Bill: I am in! This is GREAT! I can do this! I will be in touch soon. Sleep well my friend....Mark

Bill, I love this post...very "Wayne Dyer"-ish. Can't wait for the upcoming section on meditation. I also read Louise Hay's book, "You Can Heal Your Life". All of the staements (that we speak) are universal truths that when put out into the universe will return back to you what you expect...be careful what you say...I've learned that lesson well! Thanks for the reminder! -Jypsy Jessie