Sibyl Chavis
“We can take care of everything we need to while we also take advantage of the possibilities that today offers us to learn, improve and live in the most amazing way where we feel really alive, connected, happy and get everything we want out of life.” – Sibyl Chavis
Hello all, I hope we are all well?
First, I’d like to apologise for the delay in between posts. It has been a busy few days with the performance of a stage play, as well as full-time work, and only now am I getting some time to really focus on blogging. I’m not complaining, but I feel I owe all of you an explanation.
Now, onto the interview. Today’s guest is someone I’m very proud and honoured to introduce. You see, there are some people in the blogging universe who I feel ‘need’ to be featured in this interview series. I believe they bring wisdom and clarity wherever they go, and I take up the chance, whenever I can, to have them answer a few questions for myself, and more importantly, for you who read this.
Sibyl Chavis, of The Possibility Of Today, is one such person. She has inspired me from my very first weeks of blogging, and she continues to shine her light brightly in the blogging universe. I hope you enjoy her answers to my questions.
Stu: How did you first come to hear of ‘blogging’?
Sibyl: It is actually a pretty funny story. My husband was really into blogging. He used to spend all of his free time working and writing on his blog. I used to wonder what on earth he was doing and how could he continually put so much time into something that was really only a hobby. I think I saw him doing it so much that he subliminally influenced me to try it out. One day I finally found the time to sit down and put something together and I have been addicted ever since.
Why did you decide to focus your blogging efforts in the personal development niche?
Actually, I wouldn’t really say that I am really focused on the personal development niche (believe it or not). I really created my blog to just discuss how we could live a little better every single day. I thought it would be interesting to look at the things we encounter during our everyday lives and discuss what works and what doesn’t. A by product of living today better than yesterday may actually support personal development, but becoming a personal development blog wasn’t something I ever really aimed to do.
Could you explain the decision to leave ‘Alternaview’ and start ‘The Possibility of Today’?
When I looked back at all of my writing, I realized that many of the things I was discussing were centered around how to really take advantage of the day that is in front of you in the absolute best way possible. I was working with Corbett Barr at Think Traffic on my blogging strategy and as we were working through things, something just felt right about “The Possibility of Today”.
If you didn’t blog, what would be the one thing you would love to spend your time on?
Oh that’s easy … reading (and relaxing). Does that count as one thing?
Sure, why not! What was the reasoning behind your decision to ‘not complain’ for 40 days?
I realized I needed to change things up a little. I had been going through a period of time when things were just not feeling as right as I knew they should. So, I thought a good first step was to remove some of the negativity and free up my mind to focus on things that were really important to me.
What’s been your biggest accomplishment to date?
Not complaining for 40 days 
It’s a great accomplishment. What could you do right now to improve your life?
Focus 100% of my attention on the moment that is in front of me.
If you had 20 seconds to say whatever you wanted, and the whole world was listening, what would you say?
Each day we are given a new set of 24 hours and we get to decide how we use those 24 hours … what we do, what we think and what we learn. We can make the best use of that time, make improvements Today and know for sure that those improvements will allow us to live even better tomorrow. That is the real possibility of Today and every Today that follows.
Thank you for your wonderful answers Sibyl.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Sibyl,
I loved your 40 day accomplishment. I think what makes life tougher is that we fail to focus on smaller happiness and smaller achievement in the hope of something big and better. If we fail to value what we have right now then we can never learn to be happy with whatever we get.
It was great knowing more about you!
Thanks for the interview Stuart! Have a nice weekend!
Hajra recently posted..Will they call you over for a bloggers party?
Hey Hajra,
I’m glad you enjoyed the interview! You made a valid point there which I think needs repeating – if we fail to value what we have right now then we can never learn to be happy with whatever we get.
Wise words Hajra, thanks for sharing them
Thanks Hajra so much. It was a long 40 days, but I was so much better at the end of it:)
Sibyl recently posted..A Simple Way to Instantly Improve Your Mood and Feel Great
Great reminders on making the most of today which is really all we have. The gift of the present.
I’ve been focusing on small steps and improvements which I thinks fits well with your perspective. thanks.
Brad recently posted..From the love of money to love of life
Hi Brad,
Taking baby steps, one at a time, leads to the most noticeable kind of growth – we can focus on each step and understand why we take it, and how it will help us out.
Thanks for commenting!
Congrats on your 40 day accomplishment… complaining gets you pretty much nowhere and to top it off, it can negatively affect those around you.
It’s better to just roll up your sleeves and do – and get those around you to help : )
Thanks for sharing Stu and Sibyl!
Mark recently posted..Twitter Tip Series: Make Your First Impression Count
Hi Mark,
There’s nothing that works as well as rolling up your sleeves – action takes precedence over thought when it comes to accomplishment!
Thanks for stopping by my friend, hope all is well
Thank you Mark. You are so right. Complaining gets you absolutely no where:)
Sibyl recently posted..A Simple Way to Instantly Improve Your Mood and Feel Great
Hi Stuart & Sibyl,
I really enjoyed reading this. I never tire of learning more about the bloggers I respect so highly. Stuart you did a wonderful job of interviewing Sibyl. Getting through 40 days of no complaints is amazing. I try – I’m happy to get through one day!
Angela Artemis/Poweredbyintuition recently posted..Going Without Goals. An Update in the Year of the Dragon
Hi Angela,
I also never grow weary of discovering more about fellow bloggers, especially those who have been proven successful. Their experiences and lessons learned are what help others such as myself to continue to grow and evolve.
Thanks for stopping by!
Angela: Thanks so much for dropping by. I really appreciate it and I know you can definitely get through 40 days and more:)
Sibyl recently posted..A Simple Way to Instantly Improve Your Mood and Feel Great
I first learned of you through a link on the 40 days of no complaining. It’s such a good idea. Maybe it could be implemented into every learning institution as a requirement!
Anyway, so glad you found blogging and that we all get to read and share in your insights.
Mahalo
Jt Clough | Big Island Dog recently posted..The Reflection of Dislike
Hi Jt,
That is a good idea! Can you imagine no complaining in schools for 40 days, from the students and the staff? I believe that would make a remarkable difference to many lives. Maybe Sibyl’s onto something here
Thanks for commenting!
Thanks so much Mahalo for the kind words. I am so glad you found me and think its a good idea. It really opened up my ability to live in a way I had never imagined. Thanks so much for the comment.
Sibyl recently posted..A Simple Way to Instantly Improve Your Mood and Feel Great
Hi Sibyl, Hi Stu!
Stu this is wonderful! You really are good at these interviews!
It’s great to have a bigger picture of you Sibyl! I’ve already told you about how you inspired me with your 40 day complaining fast. I love going to your place for some upliftment and inspiration! (I know – “upliftment” isn’t a word – but it should be
Keep these up Stu!
Lori
Lori Gosselin recently posted..Are You Driven or Are You Motivated?
Hi Lori,
It doesn’t matter that “upliftment” isn’t a word, we all get the idea of what you’re saying
Glad you enjoyed this interview, and it was awesome to feature you for the next one Lori!
Thanks for dropping by and thanks for the kind words Lori. I would love to hear how your no complaining period ended up. I remember you mentioning you did it and it worked. Let me know if you are still able to stick with it:) I love great stories.
Sibyl recently posted..A Simple Way to Instantly Improve Your Mood and Feel Great
I am still aware of it, which is the main thing. I catch myself the minute it begins and “Shhhh!” it away!
It really is life-changing, isn’t it?
Lori Gosselin recently posted..Who Are We Talking To?
That’s a great attitude to take Lori
Thanks for sharing this interview Stu. I believe the 40 day complain-free challenge is very inspiring. I might give it a try. However, I once wrote an article on my blog about the perfect time when you should NOT stop complaining. Instead, you should FEED THE PAIN. If you’re interested to read this article, let me know, and I can share the link with you.
M. Tohami recently posted..The Three Most Popular Ways Of Turning Your Passion Into Profits
Hi Mohamed,
I reckon if you were to give this a try, you would feel at least some benefit. Complaining hampers our ability to voice positive thoughts, and so removing the obstacle will give your positivity free access.
That article sounds interesting, I’d love to read it if I may?
Sure, here is the link: http://www.transformationalmotivation.com/do-not-stop-complaining-i-literally-mean-it/
M. Tohami recently posted..Milk The Pigeon: Special Interview About Finding Your Purpose In Life
Thanks for the link Mohamed, just read through it.
First thing that grabs me is that you mentioned using complaints as an instigator to take correct action – I see what you mean. When we complain, we do so because we feel something is wrong, but most of our complaints are about things we have no control over (the weather, price of food, our favourite sports team, etc). We still complain though because it helps us feel good.
However, I believe your article is useful for when our complaints are about something we CAN change. The complaint brings an issue to light, and then we can set about acting to change it. But in order to do this, we need to change our mentality completely, from negative to positive.
Not many people can do that Mohamed – maybe a post would help?
LOL. I think I would like to see that article. Sounds very interesting. Thanks so much for the comment and if you do decide to try it out, please let me know how it worked out for you:)
Sibyl recently posted..A Simple Way to Instantly Improve Your Mood and Feel Great
Hi Sibyl and Stuart,
Thanks for this great interview.
Sibyl, I can appreciate what you say about not really starting your blog specifically for personal development but how it is highly relevant to the area now. This is what I love about blogging and how what we write evolves, and how doing so has the potential to become greater and better than we might have initially expected, and reach out to people, who we might not have expected to read and follow our work.
Hiten recently posted..Justin Mazza reviews EmpowerHour coaching!
Hi Hiten,
Sibyl surprised me when she said this, because I assumed that she had her goals set out from Day 1. But as you said Hiten, what we do evolves the more we do it, and so Sibyl has been able to grow and evolve her abilities and goals throughout the course of blogging into something far more refined and focused.
Thanks for commenting
Hiten: That is such a great point. Your writing definitely evolves and the greatest thing is that you also find your voice more and more everyday:) Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
Sibyl recently posted..A Simple Way to Instantly Improve Your Mood and Feel Great
Hey Sibyl, I LOVE that you didn’t complain for 40 days! I’ve been working on LIVING gratitude for a little while, and I think putting a focus on being happy and content with things as they are instead of seeing what could be can be a real step forward!
Stewart, I love the interview series. I regretfully lost a lot of my old posts when my site crashed and I had to get a new (paid) webhost.
So, I’d love to conduct a new interview with you sometime. What do you say? 
Bryan recently posted..Tom Hanks Motivates You to Action in LARRY CROWNE
Hi Bryan,
Glad to see you stop by Sibyl’s interview!
No worries, I’d be happy to be interviewed again, especially as my way of thinking has progressed since our interviews together! Let me know what needs to be done and I’ll do it
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