This is why managers should not volunteer information to those managed by them. Approval is not 100% certain, but you are already stressing over this instead of doing your work.

This is me being paranoid...

I had lunch a month ago with my boss's boss who hinted that they are prepared to promote me. Yesterday my boss told me that he and his boss are putting together the case for my promotion. The company where i work has implemented a process where promotional considerations happen 3 times a year - next one is in mid-December.

Have you ever had a promotion promise fall through? What's typically at play in those instances?

How do you know when you are just being strung along?