October is here, also known as the transition month, bringing with it the onset of the end of this year.
In my part of the world, this month marks the end of the monsoon and the beginning of a season of festivities and weddings.
There’s a subtle shift in the air as the heat and humidity mellow into the cool onset of winter.
Anything that is nearing its end automatically shifts into a transit state; that’s the rule of nature, and the best examples are from nature itself.
Work wise
Work wise, most of us are headed towards the holiday season, and you will find that work slows down and becomes more review-oriented and announcement-driven.
Midst such brief pauses and reflection sessions, that’s where we often find what’s missing.
The Transit state of Goals (missing and incomplete).
Take a moment to pause and try to retrieve your goals or notes, where you may have recorded or written down what you wanted at the start of the year.
If you don’t have such goal sheets or records, no problem; you can simply recall what you eagerly aimed for this year, sometime back in January 2025 or earlier. (It can be both personal & professional)
Let’s do this step by step
Step 1 – Take three deep breaths and relax. Now, as you enter a calm state of mind, recall a memory of any such idea, goal, or aim and let it surface.
Step 2 – Write it down. If you have already written it somewhere (look for it in your notepad, book, or folders), retrieve it, read it, and review it.
Step 3 – Review the original plan in relation to the current status of your goal, aim, or idea, and what has unfolded; this is to assess the extent to which you have been able to work towards it.
And in doing so, when you find that there’s still a lot incomplete or (work in progress) somewhere in between, make a note;
To begin anything new, we need to close down things, and the rule of Transition is that it begins with an ending, paving the way for new beginnings.
Let’s bring closure, an ending to our goals in transit.
To do so, follow these steps ;
- From your list of goals, aims, targets, whatever you may want to call that.
- Identify what stands still incomplete –label it incomplete.
- Next, ask yourself: What can bring closure to what is incomplete?
- Next, how can the incomplete be complete? Can this be completed within the short timeframe you have before the end of this year, or can it be deferred?
- Ask yourself, what will happen if this remains incomplete? (How does it matter?)
- Create a table of your work, with columns for Completion status and What will happen if it remains incomplete (fill it with your responses), so that it offers you an honest and holistic picture.
Final note – There are no right or wrong answers to this technique.
For goals, aims, targets, or any of your plans that cannot find closure because you hold no control and are no longer serving you, you need to let them go.
Give yourself permission to close it at an incomplete status.
& Who said closures always have to be bad, sad or melancholic? It can also be freeing, peaceful and celebratory.
But you need to end before you begin!
Every ending is a quiet doorway, not to loss, but to a new beginning waiting to be written.
Happy closures.
And at points where you need support, either let go, close, end or start anew, let’s talk here
Warmly
Mehnaz Amjad.