You know those moments when you feel like you are going round in circles. You usually are.

Here are some tell tale signs a pivot is in order.  

1. You are getting nowhere fast.

You know you want to make something happen. You’ve got a big goal in mind and a target to hit.

Something that will really help you if you do it. But you are super busy.

Your to-do list is never ending and despite hammering through it each day, ticking things off, rushing around, multi-tasking, at the end of each week you collapse exhausted and wonder what you’ve achieved.

You’ve ticked off loads of things, but that one big thing you wanted to do didn't get started.

Again. Oh well. You’ll start that next week. Hmm. How many weeks have you been saying that?

2. You can’t convince that person (all the books call this influencing).

Unfortunately in life we can’t just do things on our own. Wouldn’t it be a hell of a lot easier if we could?!

To get through life smoothly, we are regularly tasked with convincing other people to get on board with our ideas.

From our boss or that person in HR who has the keys to the pay rise, to our partners or our kids. Sometimes they just won’t do what we want! They are just not on the same page.

It’s easy to blame the other person and go round moaning about them and feeling disgruntled. It's sometimes hard to take a look at ourselves and think about the feedback we are receiving. What signs they are giving to you? Are you reading them right? Could you tweak your approach?

3. You can’t stop moaning.

Wow it feels great to moan. Let’s get together and put the world to rights. “My job is so rubbish”...”my husband is so annoying”...”this business strategy is crap”...”what a stupid idea, it will never work”. Blah blah blah. Ooh a good gossip doesn’t half feel good.

But isn’t it draining? When we moan we are telling our brain little stories. Negative ones.

Our brain doesn’t know that we don’t always mean it. Our brain absorbs these stories every time it hears them coming out of your mouth, or from people around you.

Every time you are embedding that negativity and you really start to believe it.

This negativity comes through in your behaviour and the cycle can’t be broken.

What would happen if you started letting your brain hear more cheerful stories? You get what you focus on, after all.

4. You feel like throwing the towel in.

You are totally over it. You can’t see a way out. Walking out and slamming the door dramatically behind you seems like the only solution.

But you keep going back for more. This is your final warning. You need to pivot! 

Spotting the warning signals is the first step. Acting on them is the second.

Your next move doesn’t need to be that dramatic, it could be a tiny tweak that could make all the difference. Just don't leave it until you explode!

 What other warning signals have you noticed? 

Liz Ward is Founder and Coach at Slick Pivot. Slick Pivot helps new and seasoned entrepreneurs get good at change. Supporting your pivot journey through one to one coaching, bespoke team workshops, and events to help you find more happiness and growth in your work, whether that is quitting your 9-5, starting and growing that business or developing the right mindset for success. 

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