““We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
— Dolly Parton
I never thought I would be quoting Dolly Parton, but I am a sailor, and I know the truth of these words from experience. In order to get to your destination you have to pick your weather window, plot your route and set your sails accordingly. But any sailor knows that you need to be able to read the signs along the way that you can´t plan for – subtle changes in light, in the highest of clouds, in the water movement, in the temperature, in a tiny whisper of wind. And then you have to know how to adjust your sails in order to best respond to what is coming. And hopefully, before it arrives. It´s all in the sails, folks. But what if it´s a violent wind shift that hits you without warning? Or a rogue wave? We experienced both in the middle of the Pacific and it isn´t something you wish to repeat. On a boat, there is no room for repetitions. Only learnings.
What is required is flexibility and agility – being light on your mental feet and able to adapt to whatever the situation requires. Hopefully you have the basics in place already – knowing your boat and having skilled crew who can operate as a team – but the point of the analogy is being able to deal with anything that comes your way.
It´s a mental game. An attitude game. A self-belief game. A fixed mindset will not help you to cope with the curved balls of life even if you think it gives you stability. We don´t know what life has in store for any of us. But you can prepare yourself to respond to it in ways that help you move forwards and not backwards. By controlling your emotions, by taking a minute to assess the situation and make a tactical judgment rather than letting fear and reflex take over, or by thinking of the consequences before acting. This is what it means to adjust your sails.
Coaching can help you to become adaptable by letting go of your self-limiting thoughts, by enabling you to see multiple perspectives and learning to self-regulate so you can trust your responses to situations.
Contact me on 076 778 2787 or email vastrop1@gmail.com for a free exploration session to see how coaching can help you to navigate the changes that life brings.
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