Subject: Celebrating the Journey: Challenge the Negative Voices

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Welcome to Celebrating the Journey!
Friday, July 19, 2002
Issue #100!!!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Welcome Notes
2. Challenge the Negative Voices
3. Coaching: Close the Door on the Committee
4. Quotes
5. Celebrating Out Loud!
6. Humor: Only In America

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~==~=~=~=~=~=~=
1. Welcome Notes

Walking alone, together. The words of Irene Morris
to describe the process of connecting despite
geographical challenges. I hiked up my favorite trail
called Arbanie Kittle this morning, walking alone
together with each of you in honor of this 100th
issue.

Thank you to all who have and are joining me
today. We have well over 100 miles committed.
Hikers, walkers, runners, bikers, even a paddler is
taking part in the celebration.

Many of you have written over the years that it is a
great model that I take such good care of myself and
live my life as a great adventure. In the spirit of
both of those, I will be spending the next several
weeks on retreat, mostly on a VisionFast in the
Inyo Mountains. So CTJ will will be quiet for
several weeks, returning in late August with a new
perspective, new topics (I have some great ideas
from you readers), and from a new location.

The actual move to Santa Cruz will take place on
September 4. I’ve had some marvelous responses to
my request for moving tips. Thank you for those.
I’ll share them with our readers in September.

Thanks, especially on this occasion of our 100th
issue, to all who forward CTJ. I don’t promote this
newsletter so we grow only through word of mouth
(or word of e-mail, as it were!). If you like what you
read, just hit your forward key to share it. We
welcome all our new readers with open arms and
hearts.

It is my desire to have CTJ be the best gift for you it
can be. What would you like to see that would raise
the value for you? What topics haven’t we covered
yet? What sections could we add that would be of
additional value? I welcome your suggestions,
ideas, and input. Send them in an email to
mailto:CTJ@tothesummit.com. We very much
appreciate your participation.

We’ll be back in late August! Enjoy the next few
weeks as I will be doing.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~==~=~=~=~=~=
2. Challenge the Negative Voices

Our 100th issue! A huge accomplishment, a great
success, a marvelous achievement. 100 times since
Since October 11, 1999 we have written words that
we believed and hoped would touch, inspire, shift,
create a new perspective, turn on a light, open a
door, mirror a truth, create a laugh for our readers.

And judging from the many hundreds of e-mails
we’ve received, we have accomplished that. The
original issue went to 296 people. This one will be
sent to 1,125 people. That’s a growth of 380% in
2 3/4 years. A money manager would love it!

And yet as I was thinking about what I would write
in this celebratory issue, that niggling group of
voices in my head, that committee of criticizers
whose goal it is to make me feel like a failure, said,
“But Margo there have been 143 weeks. That’s 43
weeks you’ve missed. But Margo your friend started
his newsletter the same time you did and now has
over 15,000 subscribers. But Margo your website still
isn’t revamped. But Margo… But Margo… But
Margo… It isn’t really a success. You’re just kidding
yourself.”

Do you recognize that voice? We all have one. Or
three. Or 20. Mine have formed a committee whose
main purpose in my life is to convince me that I’m
unimaginative, uncreative, irresponsible,
worthless, weak, lazy, unreliable, incapable,
uninspirational, basically a piece of sh**. You get
the picture. Sound familiar? What does your
committee tell you?

That critical committee will look at a project, a
relationship, a career, our lives and see only the
parts that aren’t perfect. When we listen to those
voices, we give up the accomplishments, successes,
achievements, dreams, goals, wins, and celebrations
of our lives. We take our successes and wrap them
in a box labeled “not enough.”.

No matter how loud the voices are, it is our choice
to listen to them – or not. Today, I choose not.
Today I choose to challenge those voices and
celebrate, out loud, the success of publishing 100
issues of Celebrating the Journey; the success of
over 1100 subscribers; the success of people being
touched by our words. And the success of living the
life I have dreamed of in the process.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
3. Coaching: Close the Door on the Committee

The committee says the quality of our lives isn’t the
point. It says the point is that I didn’t do CTJ
perfectly; that the 4 dandelions in your yard mean
you didn’t fertilize the lawn well enough; that the
96 on the math exam means you didn’t study hard
enough; that the project was completed on time
rather than five days early means you didn’t work
hard enough; that your being single means you’re
not lovable enough.

The voices say it doesn’t matter that CTJ touches
many people; that the lawn looks great; that you’re
getting straight A’s; that your boss loved the project;
that your friends love you dearly. That committee
wants you to believe it’s just not good enough; that
you’re just not good enough.

That committee lies! It is your choice to pay
attention to those lies or listen to your heart, to
people who love you, to people you trust, to people
who support you. It is your choice to throw away
the box labeled “less than” and see your successes as
they really are.

I choose to throw away the box, to close the door on
the committee and let them argue amongst
themselves, without my listening to them. You can
make the same choice.

It’s a simple choice. No, I didn’t say it was an easy
one. And it is a simple one. The previous 99 issues
of Celebrating the Journey are filled with tools to
assist you in quieting and ignoring those negative
voices. (The issues on The Top Ten Tips for Having
the Life You REALLY Want apply strongly here. See
https://www.tothesummit.com/archive, July
through October, 2001.)

Use those tools and develop your own. Use
affirmations. Go for a walk. Go to the gym. Call a
friend. Play with a baby. Play music. Dance. Write in
a journal. Use whatever works to close the door on
the committee.

See your life through the lenses of success or
through the cloudy filter of “not good enough.” It’s
your choice.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
4. Quotes

It is dark now. The snow is deep blue and the ocean
nearly black. It is time for some music.
May Sarton

You must have chaos within you to give birth to a
dancing star.
Nietsche

Even in the dark you have the power to whistle.
Frederick Buechner

It has been well said that no man ever sank under
the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s
burden is added to the burden of today that the
weight is more than a man can bear. Never load
yourselves so, my friends.
George McDonald

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
5. Celebrating Out Loud

“A joy that’s shared is a joy made double.” English
Proverb

I celebrate this 100th issue with pride and gratitude
and a locked committee room door.

Christine Kudija celebrates graduating from law
school in December, taking the bar in February and,
after learning she did not pass, having the courage
to take it again. (Here is the perfect example of
celebrating what our committees might well want
to call failure.)

Phyllis Sbrocco celebrates 30 years clean, sober and
abstinent, her 71st birthday, 3 years of marriage to
“the most wonderful man in the history of
loverdom”, and Life. How absolutely lovely!

June 9: Terri celebrates the birth of her first
grandchild, a baby girl who “is already showing the
strength of the four living generations of strong
women who welcome her.”

Carolyn Hansen celebrates the completion of the
Outward Bound course for which she’s been
preparing this past year. She says, “It’s been hard to
find the words to describe such an intense
experience and the completion of a goal I have had
for so long.” I choose “bravo!”

July 1: Richard and Donna Bauman celebrate their
41st anniversary. Richard writes, “Some teen
marriages do last!”

July 13: Denise Landau and Dick Philby celebrate
their wedding at the top of Aspen Mountain. It was
a celebration of love and family and friends and
community, a ceremony filled with tears and
laughter, ritual and spontaneity, and most of all
love. I know – I was there!

Thank you to all who share your celebrations with
us, especially on this special day. We want to hear
what YOU are celebrating today or this week or this
month or this year. Let us know so we can celebrate
with you. E-mail us at
Mailto:celebrations@tothesummit.com

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
6. Humor: Only In America

This marvelous take on some of the oddities of our
great American culture come from my friend Dave
Gallagher. Enjoy them.

1. Only in America……can a pizza get to your house
faster than an ambulance.

2. Only in America……are there handicap parking
places in front of a skating rink.

3. Only in America……do drugstores make the sick
walk all the way to the back of the store to get their
prescriptions while healthy people can buy
cigarettes at the front.

4. Only in America……do people order double
cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet Coke.

5. Only in America……do banks leave both doors to
the vault open and then chain the pens to the
counters.

6. Only in America……do we leave cars worth
thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our
useless junk in the garage.

7. Only in America……do we use answering
machines to screen calls and then have call waiting
so we won’t miss a call from someone we didn’t
want to talk to in the first place.

8. Only in America……do we buy hot dogs in
packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

9. Only in America……do we use the word “politics”
to describe the process so well: “poli” in Latin
meaning “many” and “tics” meaning
“bloodsucking creatures.”

10. Only in America……do they have drive-up ATM
machines with Braille lettering.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Give yourself the gift of closing the committee door
this week.

Namaste, Margo

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Hiring a Life Coach is a great way to be supported in
taking the steps that will lead you to your own
dreams. Margo has a few slots open for motivated
clients who want to shift from, “I like my life,” to,
“I love my life!!!” Visit our website at
https://www.tothesummit.com for additional
resources and tools. To schedule a consultation,
send an e-mail to mailto:margo@tothesummit.com

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
If you received this copy of Celebrating the Journey
from a friend and would like to subscribe, visit
https://www.tothesummit.com or send an e-mail to
majordomo@tothesummit.com
and in the body of the text include
subscribe tothesummit youre-mailaddress.
To stop receiving CTJ include
unsubscribe tothesummit youre-mailaddress.

My purpose in publishing Celebrating the Journey
is to provide you with resources, motivation,
inspiration and energy for YOUR journey of
creating success and freedom in all areas of your
life. CTJ will use stories from my life and others,
coaching tips and resources, quotes and humor to
deliver a learning experience that can enhance your
life. I am always looking for comments, ideas and
ways to improve CTJ. I welcome your e-mails at
mailto:margo@tothesummit.com.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Copyright © 2002, all rights reserved, by Margo
Chisholm

I invite you to share Celebrating the Journey with
your mailing list, friends, and associates. We ask
only that the entire e-mail with copyright and
credits be included. The author of this article is
Margo Chisholm. You may contact her at (970-704-
9336) or at mailto:margo@tothesummit.com.

—
“Until he extends his circle of compassion to include
all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
Albert Schweitzer

Margo Chisholm
Coach, Speaker, Author, Therapist
Partnering you in having success,
freedom and joy in all areas of your life
970-704-9336 fax 970-704-9346
margo@tothesummit.com

Home

Celebrating The Journey is a free, weekly
email newsletter, full of resources and
quotes, humor and coaching to support you
in having the life you REALLY want. Visit
https://www.tothesummit.com to subscribe.