Subject: Be Your Best Advocate

Welcome to Celebrating the Journey!
Monday, October 30, 2000
Issue #39

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Welcome Notes
2. Be Your Own Best Advocate
3. Coaching: Are You Taking Care of Yourself?
4. Quotes
5. Humor: A Halloween Story
6. Surfing for the Journey

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1. Welcome Notes

A carved pumpkin sits on my front doorstep, we “found”
an extra hour Saturday night, and migrating bluebirds are
fueling themselves at my bird feeder. Of these notices of
the end of October, the Halloween pumpkin is the most
universal here in the United States. As I was carving
mine, I got to wondering about the origins of the customs
of Halloween and did some research on the web.

Halloween: a night of ghosts and goblins, pumpkins and
pranks, costumes and caprice. Visit
http://www.wilstar.com/holidays/hallown2.htm
for a brief and fascinating description of the evolution of
the rituals we now partake in on October 31.

We have two months left in this millennium year of
2000. Have you achieved the goals you set for this year?
What actions do you need to take to achieve them? What
can you do right now, today, to move in the direction of
those goals?

One of my most important goals for this year, and each
year, is to take a day in the 4th quarter to establish my
goals for the coming year. I have set Saturday, November
18 as my goal setting day. It is a known fact that those
people who set goals for themselves and put them down
on paper, have more success, freedom and joy in their
lives. What day are you setting aside as your Goals for
2001 Day?

Greetings to our new subscribers. CTJ grows by your
sharing it with others. I ask that you do that this week.
Forward CTJ to 5 people who deserve to be their own best
advocate. They will thank you for it.

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2. Be Your Own Best Advocate

Ever notice how willing we are to stand up for others,
fight for what is right, and speak out about the injustices
of the world? However, sometimes what we are willing to
do for others we are not willing to do for ourselves. We
must become our own best advocates.

If someone says something to us that we don’t like, we
need to let that person know how we feel. If someone
does something to us that we don’t like, we need to let
them know how we feel. It is up to us to stand up for
ourselves. Do not assume other people will know that our
feelings have been hurt or what they did was
unacceptable. Most people are not mind readers so we
need to communicate to them how their actions are
affecting us.

We don’t have to be ugly about it. Simply stating in a
calm voice what we are feeling will do. No need to yell
and get angry. In fact, dealing with the situation when it
happens will allow us to get over it quicker and not
harbor feelings of anger and resentment.

If the person continues to do things that you do not like
and hurt your feelings, again be your own best advocate
and remove yourself from the situation. You are the only
person that is responsible for you own well being, both
physically and mentally. You deserve to be treated the way
you want to be, so stand up for yourself.

Copyright (c) 1999 True Direction Coaching

This article was written by my very good friend Coach
Rachelle Disbennett-Lee and published in her daily email
newsletter, 365 Days of Coaching. Being a subscriber to 365
Days is like having your own coaching call on a daily
basis. To subscribe to her marvelous newsletter and learn
more about Rachelle visit http://www.coachlee.com,

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3. Coaching: Are You Taking Care of Yourself?

Are you taking care of yourself? When you don’t, no one
else will do it for you. It feels very lonely. When you do,
you attract others who are taking care of themselves. You
create a community of people who advocate for
themselves in an ever-growing manner and support you
in doing the same. It feels very loving and full.

Make a list of the ways you can become your own best
advocate. Implement one of those actions each week until
the end of the year. On New Year’s Eve take a few
minutes to notice the difference that taking care of
yourself at this new level has made in your life.

Let the year 2001 be your year of Self Advocacy.

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4. Quotes

When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and
take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must
believe that one of two things will happen. There will be
something solid for us to stand or we will be taught to fly.
Patrick Overton

We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we
go, we take a little of each other everywhere”
Tim McGraw

As we increasingly recognize the need to recreate balance
in the environment of our planet, we are called upon to
create a commensurate balance in our inner
environment.
Findhorn Garden Book

Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.
Glenda Cloud

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5. Humor: A Halloween Story

A man is walking home alone one night when he hears
…BUMP…BUMP…BUMP behind him.

Walking faster, he looks back, making out an image of an
upright coffin banging its way down the middle of the
street towards him… BUMP…BUMP…BUMP.

The man begins to run towards his home, and the coffin
bounces quickly after him, faster…faster …BUMP …BUMP
…BUMP.

He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the
door, rushes in, and locks the door behind him. However,
the coffin crashes through his door, with the lid of the
coffin clapping …BUMP…BUMP…BUMP… on the heals of
the terrified man.

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself
in. His heart is pounding. With a CRASH, the coffin
breaks down the door and comes slowly towards him. The
man, screaming, reaches for something, anything…

All he can find is a box of cough drops!

Desperate, he throws the cough-drops at the coffin.

And of course…

the coffin stops.

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6. Surfing for the Journey

I offer two sites for you to visit: one for women, one for
men.

Learn the power of being your own best advocate at
http://www.comfortqueen.com.

This site is filled with stories, resources, humor and
ideas to take extreme care of ourselves. I visit on a regular
basis to check in with this marvelous community of
women who are committed to taking care of themselves
at a new level.

What is a Comfort Queen?

Jennifer Louden, author of The Comfort Queen’s Guide to
Life, tells us that “A Comfort Queen is your inner voice, a
voice that will soothe and befriend you, strengthen and
support you, helping you to treat yourself like someone
you love.” It is also “A community of women like YOU
who are throwing their arms open wide and declaring, ‘I
am what I am! I love my luscious, lumpy life. I know the
journey matters more than the destination. But, in the
grind of daily life, how do I remember all that?'”

Jennifer tells us that self-nurturing is more than
pampering, it is about becoming powerful. This website is
the perfect way to be your own best advocate and nurture
your way into the power of who you are.

For our male readers, I offer the information site of the
New Warrior Training. This training has been around for
a good number of years, and I have directly experienced
the positive transformations that have happened for
more than a dozen of my man friends who have done
this training.

Interested in discovering and embracing your warrior
side? Visit
http://www.nwnyc.org/Public%20Pages/training.html
and learn how other men’s lives have been
metamorphosed into a way of being that fosters better
communication, increased freedom and a new definition
of success.

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Give yourself the gift of being your own best advocate this
week.

Namaste, Margo

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If you received this copy of Celebrating the Journey from
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My purpose in publishing Celebrating the Journey is to
provide you with resources, motivation, inspiration and
energy for YOUR journey to create 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.

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Copyright © 2000, 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.

—
“At every moment of our life we have an
opportunity to choose joy.”
Henri J. M. Nouwen

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

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