When I was growing up there was less pressure on families. Children followed a path that involved school, with a guaranteed job at the end.

Now students go through school, often attend university but aren’t guaranteed a job, and that can put emotional and financial pressures on families. Perhaps, therefore we need to be more proactive, because being proactive helps us take charge of our circumstances so that we’re able to get our lives back on track.

Our attitude matters. Our reactions and approach determine not only how things will affect us, but also the final outcome. A positive attitude will always help us shape how we move forward with our lives, even if the outcome isn’t what we want.

These are my suggestions to help us remain emotionally positive and proactive:

• If you’re moving away from home, try to keep your re-adjustments to a minimum so that you don’t introduce too many personal changes all at once;
• Listen and take advice from people who feel they can help. Sometimes just listening to another person’s viewpoint on what you’re dealing with can shift negative thoughts.
• Always keep an open mind on what others say;
• Get to know yourself and how you think and feel. Take time out for yourself so that you learn to re-adjust to living on your own and so that you’re comfortable with everything;
• Don’t bottle things up. Talk about your concerns;
• If things aren’t happening as quickly as you would like, try not to panic. Take a step back and refocus;
• Retain old friendships. Organise your time so that you have time to meet up with old friends;
• New friendships will come in time once you’re up and running;
• Don’t act on impulse; think about what you want;
• Don’t feel pressured to take a job if the one you’ve applied for doesn’t feel right. If you are thinking about taking a job, weigh up the pros and cons so that you’re comfortable with your decision;
• You may feel pressured because of financial restraints, but that shouldn’t be your reason for taking a job. With patience the right job will come along.

We can all choose to look for and work on changes so that we can turn our lives around and with the right focus, attitude and support I’m not seeing a reason why that won’t happen.

With time and patience something always turns up.