For me, September always feels like a month of transitions and new beginnings! My parents worked in higher education, with August/September seeing the start of the new academic year.

Clearing, a time in August when universities look to fill available places with new students, engaged one parent, while the other prepped for the return to a lecture programme.

This was a time of constant adjustment not only for the students but for staff too. The transitions saw students gain places they wanted, and others opt for courses they might not have considered due to grades being higher or lower than they thought. Still others failed to secure a place and had to re-evaluate their next steps.

In my corporate life August it was also the month for tying off Christmas promotions and activities that needed a 3-month lead times to sell into the media, retail outlets and online. It was a case of looking at which products were actually going to market. Reviewing those products where development had stalled and needed to be pulled, while constantly looking for alternatives products or interviews to fill the gaps.

What I learnt and what has stayed with me since, is to look at what you can influence, control and what is outside both of those. Sometimes you can’t control or influence what is happening to you. You can control and influence how you respond, especially when in a place of unpredictability, recalibration and transitions.

Being able to look at what you can do rather than what you can’t do, sees you shift your mindset, let go of expectations and keep moving forward.

There are just 3.5 months to the end of the year.

From today, 20 September that sees 103 days to achieve what you want.

That’s 103 days to manage life’s constant rollercoaster of unpredictability too!

You might be where you want to be, you might not yet have even thought about what you want to achieve!

Here are some tips on managing your life, and career, ups and downs.

So when change happens what can you do?

Reflect on your sphere of influence

What is in your control?
What in your influence, although not your direct control?
What are the things you can’t control or influence?

Think about things differently

You have a choice on how you choose to think about the situation.
How can you choose to think about it differently?
How are you doing to choose how to respond?

Identify your emotions

Are you disappointed? Angry? Upset? Happy? Excited?
Sit with however you’re feeling.
Look to identify what is the real cause?
Is it because you feel unheard, your negative self-talk got the better of you or you have a bruised ego?

Let go of expectations

As humans our minds don’t like to deal with uncertainty. We create predictions on how we would like an event to work out or how we’d like a person to be. Disappointment and frustration happens when what we thought would happen based on our predications doesn’t work out.

Look to set reasonable expectation that will feel uneasy and there will be elements of stress involved with any change or unexpected event.

How can you work to let go of your expectations of people, places and things?

Chunk the challenge into smaller bite size pieces

Instead of getting overwhelmed with the task or bigger picture, take a step back and ask yourself, What is one small thing that I can do right now to move forward?
Break the problem or situation into smaller parts and take action each day to make small intentional progress.

If you’re looking to re-energise your career and life, perhaps some coaching could support you get there faster. I’d love to help. Drop me a line on hello@seabreezecoaching.co.uk