It’s been a long, hot summer.

And there’s still plenty of it left.

But keeping focused on work has been harder than usual. The day job has quite rightly taken priority, and as a result, I’ve been much quieter on LinkedIn and Instagram over the last couple of months.

And you know what?

I think that’s been OK.

The break from constantly creating content has actually given me some space to reflect.

Reflection isn’t something I naturally do very well.

I’m much more interested in what’s next.

I don’t ignore the past, and I absolutely believe we should learn from it. But analysing every decision, every mistake and every missed opportunity to the nth degree?

That’s not really me.

I’d rather understand the lesson and move forward.

And that got me thinking about something else.

We are all looking for an escape

It might be a holiday.

More free time.

A new hobby.

More money.

Or perhaps a completely new job.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those things.

But sometimes we’re not actually looking for something new.

We’re looking for an escape from something we don’t want to deal with.

And that’s where changing jobs can become interesting.

I’ve had a couple of coaching conversations recently where clients are considering looking for something new.

I completely understand why.

Sometimes your job genuinely isn’t right for you anymore.

But the job market has changed considerably, and rejection is becoming more common.

So before jumping into the next opportunity, I think there’s a question worth asking:

Am I moving towards something I genuinely want, or am I simply trying to get away from where I am now?

Because changing your circumstances doesn’t necessarily change what’s going on underneath.

My own experience

At the end of 2024, I drank my last alcoholic drink.

It had been a long-term goal of mine.

It wasn’t easy, and I learnt a huge amount from the process.

But I don’t dwell on being an ex-heavy drinker.

I don’t want to be known as “Phil, the ex-drinker”.

In fact, most people who know me probably didn’t realise I was drinking as much as I was. Some may even be surprised that I’ve talked about it publicly.

And I don’t want to keep banging on about giving up alcohol either.

It gets boring.

Because the coaching I offer isn’t about giving up alcohol.

It’s about self-development.

Alcohol just happened to be one of the things I needed to look at.

When I was coached in 2024, alcohol was never mentioned.

That coaching helped me start seeing what was actually happening in my life.

Eventually, the penny dropped.

Alcohol wasn’t serving any useful purpose anymore.

In fact, it was probably contributing to why I was feeling so low.

Giving it up wasn’t the whole solution.

It was the enabler.

The coaching helped me open my eyes.

And that distinction matters.

Because sometimes the thing we think we need to change isn’t actually the thing that needs changing.

So what next?

One thing I’ve realised through my own development — and through coaching others — is that life can become pretty boring if we stop challenging ourselves.

Not necessarily because life itself is boring.

Because we stop pushing ourselves to experience something different.

And nobody else is going to make that move for you.

It starts with you.

That’s also why, as part of my own ongoing development, I’m looking for a coach who can help me open my eyes a little further.

Because I don’t think coaches should ever stop being coached.

We all have blind spots.

We all have things we can’t see clearly because we’re too close to them.

And sometimes it takes someone else asking the right question to make the penny drop.

And then there’s September…

This summer has felt like it has gone on forever.

But eventually September and October will arrive.

And before we know it, we’ll be talking about Christmas.

Then January.

Then “New Year, New Me”.

But why wait until January?

If there’s something you want to change, improve, learn or challenge yourself with in 2027, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with starting to prepare now.

Maybe the next few months aren’t about escaping.

Maybe they’re about getting clearer.

Clearer about where you are.

Clearer about where you want to go.

And clearer about what might be holding you back.

So, as summer continues, perhaps the question isn’t:

“What do I need to escape from?”

Maybe it’s:

“What do I need to understand about myself before I make my next move?”

That feels like a much better place to start.

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The Clear Shift is about clearer thinking, self-development and making better decisions about what comes next — in your career and in your life.

And sometimes, the biggest shift starts with simply asking a better question.