Do you find some days, you feel like you’re living in overdrive, and other days you wonder if anything will ever change? You start to wonder, “Is it time to pivot and if so, how will I know? Usually, this happens when you find yourself in an unsettled state while reflecting on or taking inventory of missteps or missed opportunities in your career, business, or family relationships. You start to feel a little uncomfortable or anxious. Examining these three areas will enable you to identify where you are, by assessing which best describes how you’re presently engaging in life. I challenge you to take a critical look at yourself to identify which indicators or what symptoms you may be exhibiting. All indicators or symptoms do not have to be present for there to be a need for you to make a change. If you determine that you have started to align with, or in some instances fully display several of the indicators or symptoms, then it’s time to pivot and you must take targeted action
When considering your career – let’s look at things like skill acquisition, staff acknowledgment, advancement, job satisfaction, or upward mobility. If you’re an entrepreneur or have an entrepreneurial spirit, let’s think about leadership, innovation, analytical skills, or business management. In your personal life, let’s consider whether you have a happy family if you are achieving personal goals, experiencing optimum mental and physical health, or quality of life. These are only a few indicators; I acknowledge that there are a host of other items and factors that could be included. Since the list could be vast, we’ll focus on career, business, and family.
“If you do not change direction, you might end up where you are heading”. – Lao Tzu
Is it time to make a change in your career? How do you know? What should you consider and what are a few signs a shift is needed? If you are experiencing any of the following:
YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE NO LONGER MAKING AN IMPACT
Your assignments no longer yield the same excitement they use to. You find yourself questioning your influence and the real impact your efforts are having. Contrary to what you once felt about being a great contributor, you have lowered your expectations, feel like your impact has been diminished and this mindset has become normalized.
YOU’VE BECOME COMPLACENT AND INDIFFERENT
New projects are met with apathy. In the past, you looked forward to tasks with great anticipation, but now you’re lethargic and can’t seem to garner enthusiasm about your assignments. You long for the days when you couldn’t wait to engage your team members in challenging projects. You have mentally checked out and found yourself opting out of opportunities to engage with your colleagues, staff, or supervisor in a meaningful way.
YOU DREAD GOING TO WORK
You experience feelings of overwhelm when you think about going to work. Your weekends have become less enjoyable and filled with anxiety as you anticipate the impending arrival of Monday or whenever your work week starts. Emotions of discomfort are on the horizon because you’re dreading when you must report to work. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an office building or home office – it’s the thought of having to engage once again day after day in something you don’t want to do. It’s what you feel in the pit of your stomach when you’re about to attempt something that is unpleasant.
YOU FEEL LESS AND LESS APPRECIATED
You’re getting more and more agitated, and believe you are being taken for granted. Frustration has creeped in and it’s making you feel underappreciated. Believing that you are being devalued on an ongoing basis is almost intolerable. You find yourself mentally escaping to a more satisfying time in the past when compliments were plentiful, and your efforts and hard work were acknowledged. Your supervisor and other executives appear to be indifferent to your commitment and the sacrifices you make to support the team. Time and time again your contributions are overlooked and even worst, sometimes they are attributed to someone else.
YOU FEEL TRAPPED
You’re only at your job because you believe your options are limited. Since you have invested your time and skills in this position, you feel stuck. To leave now, would seem like a waste, on the other hand, staying is making you feel ensnared in a never-ending loop. Also, you believe your personal circumstances prevent you from making a move at the present time. Unbridled and constant emotions of feeling confined are running rampant. Your workplace seems to offer little to no opportunities for advancement, so you’re feeling more and more depressed.
YOU WOULDN’T BE SATISFIED,EVEN IF YOU RECEIVED A RAISE
It’s no longer about the money. Even if you were offered more money, you would still be displeased with what you are doing. The disillusionment you’re experiencing, regularly, seems to have no end, and not even a financial reward would address or satisfy your deep sense of emptiness. The uneasiness that you have felt for some time, would still be present. The stress and the growing sense of imbalance are exhausting. While you would not refuse a raise, more money would not make you feel differently about your job or bring you a greater level of satisfaction.
YOU ARE DAYDREAMING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING ELSE
It’s becoming more difficult to focus because you want to be anywhere except doing this job. Your attempts to take control of your thoughts are met with confusion and a wandering mind. You routinely, engage in mental escapes, allowing you to imagine yourself with a different job or career that is more fulfilling. In meetings you find yourself fantasizing about places like the Moraine Lake in Canada, a Boracay Beach in the Philippines, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Victoria Falls in Zambia, or simply a fun-filled 3-day weekend. Nagging thoughts of “there must be more rewarding places to work or a career where I would be happier” are nonstop.
The symptoms are overwhelmingly clear. It’s time for you to pivot because your uncertainty, lack of focus, and state of hopelessness will not simply disappear. It’s time to take charge by accepting responsibility to make the change that your inner voice is begging you to make. The diagnosis is clear so now it’s time for you to plan your successful recovery by mapping the steps needed to employ your well-designed pivot.
As an entrepreneur, how do I know when it’s time to make a change? If one of the following describes your mindset or position, you are not only a candidate for change, but it is imperative for your success.
“It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem”. – Coretta Scott King
YOUR BUSINESS IS AFFECTING YOUR FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, NEGATIVELY
Your waking hours are dedicated to your business, so by default you’ve checked out of family relationships. You barely have time for them so nurturing these relationships is certainly out of the question. Whether it’s your partner, children, or other family members, the consistent message you hear is that you are not present. Your partner feels lonely, even when you are physically present and unheard during what should be engaging conversations. As a matter of fact, your relationship may have signs of toxicity. Your children and other close family members express feelings of being ignored or even worse, that they are an inconvenience.
YOU FIND YOURSELF BECOMING JEALOUS OF YOUR COMPETITORS
The times of you being intrigued followed by a nudge to do better when you learn one of your competitors has launched a new venture are long gone. You only feel envy. Jealousy is causing you to focus on what you don’t have. You are consumed with what your competitor is achieving and have all but stopped plotting your path to success. Resentment rather than a spirit of healthy competition is the emotion welling up inside you regularly. Since you know this is not who you really are, the disappointment in yourself is deepening. Because of the slump you’re in, no matter how hard you try, jealousy is always on your shoulder whispering in your ear and challenging you to compare your accomplishment with those of your competitors – and not in a productive way.
YOUR BUSINESS HAS BECOME ANOTHER JOB
You feel like you are not running your business, instead, it’s running you. The unthinkable has happened and your business is now just another job. Your creativity is all but non-existent. Enthusiasm and excitement have been replaced by old feelings reminiscent of how you felt at the “place you hated – your job”. You no longer have the same level of pride in the service or product that you’re providing. You are starting to question whether this is the right business for you or if it’s the right time and pondering if a change is needed.
YOU ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT YOUR LACK OF GROWTH
You are working harder and harder with little to show for it. Sales remain flat and you see little hope for change. You find yourself bemoaning periods when it didn’t require the current level of time investment to ensure sales and profitability. Your conversations are filled with complaints about your depressed sales and lack of growth. A sporadic burst of negative self-talk has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
YOU START TO BLAME OTHERS FOR MISSED OPPORTUNITIES OR BAD DECISIONS
Unlike your usual demeanor, your days are filled with being disappointed by your staff and their lackluster performance. Your business advisors and mentors, now seem to be more of a liability than an asset because you feel like they are part of the reason you’re not growing to the degree you expected. You’re entertaining thoughts of FOMO (feeling of missing out) since opportunities that you could have explored were not because of bad advice from friends or family.
As an entrepreneur, if this is your mindset, without question, it’s time for you to pivot. The first step should include a self-assessment. To change your state of mind so you can embark on the right pivot. You must acknowledge that divesting of personal responsibility and accountability is not an option. For your business pivot to be successful it will require an ability to analyze your past and current choices with a different yet truthful lens.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Rumi
Lastly, when do you know, something needs to change in your personal life? In many instances there will be both noticeable and subtle signs to indicate, it’s time to change. Being aware is key and crucial for an appropriate assessment. So, what should you be on the lookout for?
YOUR ARE EXPERIENCING UNEXPLAINED MOOD SWINGS
It is becoming increasingly challenging to control your inexplicable attitude and temperament. One moment you are thrilled about your future and can’t stop talking about it, the next moment you’re offended because your friends are asking about your new venture, idea, or the thing you shared with them last week. There are days when things appear fine and days when you are disturbed and disappointed about where your life has landed. Things that you would usually take in stride have become great agitations. You wake up excited about your day yet before noon, you are irritable, and no one wants to be around you. Although you are aware things are off, you can’t seem to manage your emotions. In this instance, it may be your mental health that needs attention therefore your normal course needs to change.
YOU ARE CONSTANTLY CRITICIZING AND DEVALUING OTHERS
Without even realizing it, your constant criticism of anyone who dares to enter your sphere is causing others to avoid you because they feel devalued. What used to be welcomed correction and constructive criticism has advanced to ongoing disapproval and negative critique of your friends and associates. You have become quite vocal and, in some instances, insensitive when having discussions with family members and friends. Many of your observations about what they are doing and how they are living their lives tend to be negative. And if they try to share with you how hurtful it makes them feel, you are unyielding and dismissive.
YOU BELIEVE YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS BEING NEGLECTED
While you are not overly religious, you are concerned that your spiritual growth seems to be lacking. Your times of ruminating, meditating, or reading scriptures are more a thing of the past than the present. The comfort you use to feel because of your connection to a higher source has become more a question rather than certainty. If you are honest, doubt and fear are more prevalent in your daily thoughts than they use to be. Apprehension to take even modest, well-planned risk are causing you to second guess your decisions. A reoccurring thought is your desire for a greater commitment to your spiritual development and welfare.
YOU ARE NOT IN SYNC WITH YOUR CORE VALUES
You feel like you have lost your way and are disconnected from what’s important in your life. Your core values of treating others how you want to be treated, providing for your family, and you should always do your best job, are still critical principles, however, your actions are incongruent. Principles and guiding ideals are fundamental to how you live your life, so synchronization is key. But recently, you have been wavering and seem distant from your core beliefs. There was a time your ethics and beliefs were fundamental to your decisions and ensured you remained true to your authentic self, however, now, not so much.
Ask yourself if this is how you want to continue? If your answer is no, it’s surely time for you to pivot. You will need to develop a clear plan of your next steps. Some of which may include, personal accountability, expanding your education, engaging a mentor, growing your network, and enhancing your personal and interpersonal skills, just to name a few. You should create an action plan with realistic, yet challenging goals and measurable
I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better”. Georg C. Lichtenberg
I encourage you to reflect on what you know about yourself honestly; review the indicators and symptoms we’ve discussed and decided today if it’s time for you to pivot.
