September always feels like a bit of a reset. Summer is coming to an end, the kids are heading back to school, routines start returning and there's a sense that it's time to get back to business.
It's also a good point in the year to take stock.
Are you where you wanted to be? Are you moving forward? Or have you spent the last few months waiting for something to change?
Because one of the most important lessons I've learned in my life is this, at some point, you have to accept that nobody is coming to save you.
That might sound harsh, but I actually think it's incredibly empowering.
The moment you stop waiting for somebody else to fix things is the moment you start taking your power back.
You Can't Always Control What Happens
On Christmas Eve 2007, I stepped on an IED in Afghanistan and my life changed instantly.
I couldn't control what had happened. I couldn't rewind the clock. I couldn't change the injuries I'd sustained or magically grow my limbs back.
What I could control was what happened next.
That didn't mean pretending everything was fine. There were some incredibly difficult days ahead. But eventually I had to make a decision.
Was I going to spend the rest of my life focusing on what had been taken from me, or was I going to focus on what I still had and what I could build from there?
That's ownership.
Not taking responsibility for everything that happens to you, but taking responsibility for how you respond.
Control the Controllables
This was something drilled into me during my time in the Royal Marines and it's something I still use today.
Control the controllables.
You can't control the economy. You can't control other people's opinions. You can't control whether somebody lets you down, whether a business opportunity disappears or whether life suddenly throws something unexpected at you.
But you can control your effort, your attitude, your preparation, your habits and the standards you set for yourself.
Too many people waste enormous amounts of energy fighting battles they have absolutely no control over.
Then they've got nothing left for the things they actually can change.
Ask yourself a better question.
What can I do about this?
That question immediately puts you back into action.
Excuses Give Away Your Power
Through coaching, I've seen how easy it is for people to create perfectly reasonable explanations for why they're stuck.
Work is busy. The timing isn't right. Someone else hasn't done what they promised. The kids need them. They're tired. They haven't got enough money. They'll start when things calm down.
Some of those reasons may be completely legitimate.
But here's the problem.
Every time the solution to your situation depends entirely on somebody or something else changing, you've handed your power away.
Ownership doesn't mean ignoring reality. It means asking what you can do despite that reality.
There is almost always another move.
Ownership Builds Confidence
People often think confidence comes from success.
I think it comes from trust.
More specifically, trusting yourself.
Every time you say you're going to do something and then follow through, you're building evidence that you can rely on yourself.
Every workout completed, difficult conversation had, promise kept and uncomfortable decision made adds another piece of evidence.
That's why ownership is so powerful.
You stop waiting for confidence to arrive and start earning it through your actions.
Leadership Starts With Yourself
We often associate leadership with managing teams or running organisations, but leadership starts much closer to home.
Can you lead yourself?
Can you maintain your standards when nobody is checking?
Can you make the difficult decision instead of the comfortable one?
Can you admit when you've got something wrong?
Whether I'm coaching someone, speaking to a business or thinking about my own performance, I always come back to personal responsibility.
You can't expect other people to take ownership if you're constantly making excuses yourself.
Leadership starts with the person looking back at you in the mirror.
September Is Your Opportunity to Reset
There are still months left in this year.
That's plenty of time to change direction.
Maybe you've drifted over summer. Maybe your training has slipped. Maybe you've neglected your goals or allowed your standards to drop.
Fine.
Own it.
Then do something about it.
Don't waste another month beating yourself up about what's already happened. Learn from it and make the next decision better.
You don't need January.
You don't need Monday.
You don't need somebody to give you permission.
You need to take responsibility for the next move.
Final Thoughts
Nobody is coming to save you.
And that's good news.
Because it means you don't have to spend your life waiting.
You can take ownership today.
Focus on what you can control, stop wasting energy on what you can't and start building evidence that you're capable of more.
Life might not always give you a choice about what happens.
But you always have a choice about what you do next.
Your move, what's one area of your life where you need to stop waiting and start taking ownership?