Managing the Curveball

Now, I hate sports metaphors as much as most of the rest of the ladies who were subject to these throughout our careers, but curveball is the best way to describe something that you are looking at that appears to be careening towards you, as expected, and then just doesn't behave in ways you think it should.

This can apply to anything, career, family, finances, etc. All of the things we are primarily focused on in our lives. And, continuing the train of thought, we make decisions on what to do about it if we see it change course: We might jump out of the way, or swing higher, lower, wider than we normally would. Frequently, it is imperceptible and we might just get smacked in the head by that curveball.

So what are some coping skills we might develop to deal with these events? We can think about our life in terms of the most important aspects that affect our wellbeing and do some preparations:

Financal Changes: Knowledge of our budget and contingencies for emergencies: Savings accounts, retirement planning, insurance policies.

Career Changes: Keep an updated resume, a list of business contacts, build an ongoing network of collegues, education and conference attendance to enhance skills

Life Changes: Therapy, meditation, self-help resources for understanding how we deal with changes, developing a network of friends and family for support.

One of the great benefits of getting a life coach is to work with someone who can help you identify what skills and tools you need for navigating change. The gift of an empathic coach is the tailoring of your sessions to your particular needs and establishing the wholistic support for the near term events and developing the skills to pilot the future events.