We know that autumn is often a stressful time of the year as summer is finishing and many people are either returning to a long stint of work before Christmas or to education. Especially in a post-Covid world, people are likely to have a number of worries around this time of year and so it is important to look for and test out new strategies to combat these.
One model that is popular in coaching is the CIA model. This stands for Control, influence and acceptance, and almost every challenge falls into one of these categories.
Control
These are situations and aspects that are in your own control e.g. your thoughts, behaviour and emotions.
Control situations are those where you are capable of solving the problem and can probably do so with simple strategies. For example, you experience stress and anxiety at work. You can spend a bit of time writing down strategies and researching how to reduce stress at work. The results may not be instant but making a start is something that is under your control
Influence
These are situations which you cannot full control but you can influence to an extent e.g. Your work colleagues/ manager, your surroundings, your family.
Influence situations are ones you cannot control on your own but you can try to influence to change them. A classic example is an unmotivated or unhappy colleague. You can directly control their emotions and motivations but you can try to support them and make a difference to their day, which in turn may lift them up and increase productivity.
Acceptance
This is everything that isn’t in your control and you can’t influence, so therefore must accept. E.g the weather, traffic or delayed transport.
Perhaps the most difficult category to put into practice but also one of the most important and many people worry about things they simply cannot control or even influence. For example, you might worry about what your new boss is going to be like. However, you have absolutely no control or influence over who gets hired. Therefore, all you can do is accept whoever it is and then focus back on the thing you can control and influence and this is how the model links up. Once your boss has been chosen you can influence your relationship with them by ensuring you work to your best standard, and if they are still unpleasant you can control how you choose to react to that and the feelings that come with it.
