The
Trailhead
From Patt Osborne, AdventureCoach.
"Climb Mountains, But Bring a Good Guide"
Welcome to the July issue of The Trailhead!
Welcome aboard! If you know someone else that you think might find something valuable in here, please forward this newsletter on.
Each month, you will receive some practical tips on ideas such as eliminating stress, finding your passion, clearing clutter, and maybe even some travel tips and more. Also look for helpful resources including book titles and websites. In addition, don’t be surprised when you find a call to action. I am a coach, after all! I hope you find some useful tidbits. If you decide to take me up on one of the monthly challenges, email me and tell me about it. I would love to hear what you are up to! And remember…the adventure begins at the start of The Trailhead!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this issue:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Face the Fear
Welcome to July-the month of dreaming of getaways and adventures while hopefully making those dreams become reality!
I have just returned home from an amazing Peruvian adventure, where for a portion of the trip, I hiked the Inca Trail for 4 incredible days, along with my husband, two longtime friends, four new-found friends and our fabulous guide, Mario. The absolute highlight of this challenging journey was reaching the spectacular Incan ruins of Machu Picchu at sunrise. I was awed and humbled by the stark beauty and silent presence of this archeological, mountainous wonder. As I gazed out over this mysterious lost city, watching the sunlight play upon the granite, I had to chuckle at the fears that I had fiercely held onto and had finally let go.
When we started planning for this trip months ago, I was filled with excitement at the idea of this exotic outing. Yet, as the vacation date drew closer, my excitement and enthusiasm became replaced with fear and trepidation. How was I going to hike for 28+ miles for 4 days in such high altitudes as 13, 000+ feet? Would altitude sickness slow me down? Maybe I would contract malaria or yellow fever or any of the other possible illnesses I had read about while preparing for this trip. Perhaps I wasn’t in good enough shape and I would not be able to hike the entire trail. These fears, along with the dreaded “what ifs” plagued both my daytime thoughts and nighttime dreams as the departure date drew nearer. Perhaps I had made a mistake in agreeing to go on this trip at all. Get the picture? I was the proverbial basket case…and I didn’t like this behavior at all!
So…now we fast forward to the present…I can happily report that I returned safe and sound, free of altitude sickness or any other illnesses. I hiked that amazing trail for 4 days and although I felt bone tired each night in our campsite, I also felt incredible elation and exhilaration as I looked back at the physical and emotional achievements I had made each day. I did not allow my earlier fears to take over and spoil my complete delight while on this memorable journey. It wasn’t easy but I did it!
I think one of the biggest things that can keep us humans from getting what we want in life is the close relationship we have with Fear. Fear often keeps us from making decisions, completing tasks, from asking for what we really want, and even going where we really want to go. Yet I truly believe we can learn to build our “courage muscles” and train ourselves to face our fears head-on. Too often we let our fears hold us back from taking the important steps that will improve the quality of our lives. For example, you might hold off from leaving the job you detest for fear that you won’t make as much $$, you won’t be successful as you try something new, or even that your friends/family will not approve. So…instead, we decide to wait for the fear to go away before we make a move…and guess what…it’s a long wait!
Anything worth doing in life will involve at least a bit of fear-whether it’s exploring a new region of the country or world during vacation, sharing your true feelings with a loved one, leading a meeting in your office, or perhaps even leaving a relationship that you know is holding you back. If, when you consider a fearful situation and you notice a mixture of both fear and excitement, that’s a sure sign that you are ready to take the next step to face the fear. I realized on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu that I can achieve successfully almost anything I set out to do…as long as I first understand and face the fear rationally and look at the whole picture. THEN break it down into small steps. On the steepest part of the trail, I would look ahead at a rock or bush yards away and set that as my goal. As long as I took each small step forward in those breathtaking altitudes and did not berate myself for the size of each step, I always arrived at that next goal where I would reward myself with a sip of water or a welcome stretch of my legs. In doing so, I slowly but steadily reached the top of the mountain, free of fear and totally thrilled.
In order to begin to conquer our fears, I believe that we 1st need to give ourselves a break and become aware of the successes we have already experienced in our lives when faced with fear. That awareness alone could be the first step in tackling a current fear. What fear do YOU have that is dictating you and keeping you from what you really want?
Challenge at the Trailhead:
Answer these questions as you begin to face your fears:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upcoming Events:
Join Coach Deb Martin and me for a fabulous Coaching Retreat on the beautiful island of St. John to explore the topic: What Are You Doing with the Rest of Your Life?
Saturday, October 25-Wednesday, October 29, 2003.
Does the life you are living reflect your true values and your passions? Or, have you settled for less than you really want and believe in?
What to expect:
Relax and Rejuvenate- With daily, interactive and informative morning workshops, playful activity, and self-reflection.
Pamper Yourself- By relaxing on the beach, snorkeling excursions, hiking, shopping, and much more.
Savor- In the company of others, with plenty of down time, delicious, healthy meals, and comfortable accommodations.
Great price through July 31, 2003. $595 includes your lodging, breakfast and dinner, and all coaching activities and materials. Click here for more details and the registration form. Price increases to $695 on August 1st-don’t dawdle!
Click on the “More Adventures Here” link on my website
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This month on the Trailhead Bookshelf:
Stand Up For Your Life by Cheryl Richardson
Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers
It’s Not about the Horse: It’s about overcoming Fears and Doubts by Wyatt Web
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trailhead Resources:
www.perutourism.com (a great company to hook up with if you ever decide you want to hike the Inca Trail)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok…that’s all for now. There will be no Trailhead in August…So; I’ll see y’all in September! In the meantime, I invite you to email me with any comments, questions, wins and/or challenges. And thanks, as always, for reading!
Warm wishes,
Patt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To schedule a complimentary 30 minute coaching phone session, email me at patt.adventurecoach@verizon.net or call 609-953-0027
Visit my website for more coaching info. www.adventurecoach.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please forward this newsletter on to any friends or colleagues who you think may find it useful. Be assured, I will never sell, trade, or give your information to anyone, at anytime, period!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To subscribe, send a blank email to: patt.adventurecoach@verizon.net and put “subscribe” in the subject line.
To unsubscribe and not receive any future copies of this newsletter, simply zip me an email and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.
Patricia E. Osborne
email: patt.adventurecoach@verizon.net
609-953-0027
“Climb mountains, but bring a good guide.”