Self-Sabotaging Thoughts - art from mindandbodypower.com
I had a bunch of successes and good things happen to me recently. Then nothing, except perhaps some sloth. What’s going on I thought? Have I peaked? To find the answers, I jumped into self-reflection and soul searching. Here’s what I came up with – my story adapted from The Kingston Trio’s song Charlie and The MTA. (MTA-Massachusetts Transit Authority) Original lyrics by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax-Hawes
Read in the voice of a radio announcer:
These are the times that try women’s souls
In the course of your own history
The voices in your head have rallied en masse
Whenever their negativity is threatened
~
Adapted song lyrics:
Well, let me tell you the story of a woman named Cherry
on a tragic and fateful day
she won a global competition, upped her work and business,
got scared and rode the “MTA”
Chorus:
Did she ever try again
No, never again and her fate is still unknown
<poor old Cherry>
She may stay ‘fraid forever says her sab-o-teur
She’s the woman who never gets-big.
~
Now all night long Cherry rides through self-pity
Crying what will become of me
How can I get what I want if I just stay seated
Stuck listening to those fear-ful thoughts
Chorus:
Did she ever try again
No, never again and her fate is still unknown
<poor old Cherry>
She may stay ‘fraid forever says her sab-o-teur
She’s the woman who never gets big.
~
Now you readers of this blog post,
Don’t you think it’s a scandal
That our Cherry “has” to be this way
Fight the sab-o-teur!
Vote for much success!
Get poor Cherry off the MTA.
~song portion ends~
Any of these chords ring a bell?
If they do, they don’t have to any more. I’m voting for your and my much-success.
My Action
I’ve chosen to leave behind a pattern of self-protection that I learned early in life. It came in the form of love and concern that hid the underlying message of fear. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” “Things are good enough, why would you take the chance of failing.” Geez-louise I’d take the chance of failing because I also have a good chance of success.
I learned a long time ago – but periodically forget, as I did recently – that even when I fail, I always pick myself back up and am a helluva lot more knowledgeable about what works and what doesn’t than I was before I failed.
Your Action
To get off your MTA, you have to first acknowledge why you’re staying in the perceived safety of that ride.
- If you’re scared of putting yourself out there and possibly getting rejected – admit it.
- If you’re stuck in a habit of procrastination – admit it.
- If you’re stuck because of the pay-offs that come with being a victim – admit it.
Do some soul-searching and figure out what keeps you stuck. Then admit it, embrace it, and tell it like it is. Lip-service, and nods of the head aren’t enough to get you to change. This is a direct, no holds barred, confrontation with yourself. At a minimum that will get you off the MTA. It’s the first step in moving forward.
What’s Next
I say bring it on baby. I’m off The MTA and driving my own train to success. Join me for the ride via a follow on Twitter.
I would love to get to know you! Join me on 
This is fabulous, Cherry…so clever, so effective, and so explosively illuminating! You are an inspiration to everyone who reads your words or hears your voice. You have lived it and continue to…all those obstacles that present themselves, then disappear, and resurface just when we’re sure they’re gone forever. That’s what we all must learn and that you keep trying to teach us–to get moving and keep moving, never stopping until we reach the station of our choosing! Well done! ~Dawn
Thank you Dawn, your words of praise mean a lot to me. Support of friends and colleagues (and you fit into both categories) is another factor in staying off the MTA.
What an awesome article! I love your idea of applying song lyrics to your situation – and what a great song to adapt!
I can totally relate to the idea of keeping yourself stuck. I’ve been doing quite a bit of work on it myself lately – drinking the Seth Godin koolaid, reading the comics of Hugh MacLeod, and reading a little Pressfield have all helped out.
But in the end, none of them did more than simply putting my heading down and getting to work. “Just do it” can be a pretty good motto!
Thanks Dan, I had fun applying my situation to the lyrics but matching up the number of syllables was tough on some verses.
I agree, in the end it is Just Do It. Cherry
Again, very creative and what a blast from the past! One of my fondest memories from childhood is dancing with my sisters ’round the living room to the Kingston Trio.
As swirling children, we never thought about the meaning of the words. We just liked the sound of the music. Remember that? As children we just did what came to us to do. And yes, sometimes we got in trouble and were told that we were not good enough for being so silly to think of doing that. Then we grew up and adopted the role of parent and self-critic of our swirlings and doings.
Let’s all grab hands here and jump off the MTA together – Ready? One, two, three …. (did you jump?)
I love it!
Thanks Daria. Always good to have you drop by. Cherry
Love it! You’re such an inspiration Cherry. I feel like I just hopped off the MTA myself so I’m happy to ride the train with you :)
Thanks for your kind words Katie. I want to be an inspiration to others as much as I can…which means being extraordinary today!
Beautiful post – really! It’s funny because despite education and knowledge and…. there are things that are still hard for me at times. My only solution is to act as if – act as if I’m confident – act as if I care to be healthy – act as if…. Eventually the actions change my thinking. But the saboteur is still around – I ride this rollercoaster fairly regularly ;)