The parents of one of my dearest friends are going through a huge re-start. After living in one place for almost thirty years, they moved away, not just to a new location, but a new state, new jobs, and a new life.
They moved their moving van, two dogs, three cats, and completely relocated to a new place. I'm adding in the pets because, if you have pets, you know how un-delightful it is to move them. It's a massive restart.
Yesterday we started talking about what to do when we know we need to make a change. It doesn't have to be bold and loud and announced to the world, but it can seem bold to us as we go through the steps. Sometimes a pivot seems overwhelming and impossible, but I've crafted a quiet pivot into a new direction many times. You can too.
(Read Part 1 here.)
1. Pay attention to your emotions and feelings.
It's not a good idea to let emotions and feelings rule our lives but they need attention. We're emotional people and emotions may be an indicator of what is going on below.
2. Assess the possible presence fatigue.
There's different levels of fatigue and they go beyond feeling tired or needing a pick-me-up. In fact, the more dangerous forms of fatigue can go unrecognized because we have pushed past them in an effort to "remain focused," or "be strong." Fatigue is not a disease, it is a symptom, often resulting because we haven't taken care of ourselves, allowed stress to overwhelm us, or are possibly have another medical disease. Symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, memory loss, feeling tired even after sleeping, and muscle aches without reason are symptoms of fatigue. Check out this article for more information. See your doctor if you think you could be suffering from fatigue. We only get one body- we must take care of our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves to create the lives we desire and help others.
3. You don't need to necessarily tell anyone you're restarting. I'm all for the quiet re-start.
Want to go in a different direction? Make small changes as quickly or slowly as you want. The bigger the impact, the faster the changes.
For example, if you want to move the focus of your work from primarily writing about photography to coaching and teaching other people about photography and share your watercolors, do it slowly. Add an about page sharing what you do. Add a services page with your class schedule and options for private lessons. Shift the focus of blog posts.
Some people may leave but that's completely fine. The goal is to help and give your service to the people who want it, right?
4. Avoid announcing that you're "starting again" until you actually start starting again.
We talk an awful lot in our society. I'm SO guilty of saying what I'm going to do. My grandma used to say, "talk is cheap." Less talk, more action. Now I pivot, and then talk about it.
5. Focus on what would make the biggest difference the fastest.
This starts with knowing what is the one thing that is the most important. If adding income to your bottom line is a priority, it may not be wise to spend time writing a lot of blog posts.
Instead, focus on the ONE thing that will help you sell more. Does that mean finishing a book and publishing it? Do you need to offer classes or start an online e-commerce shop?
6. Keep your goals aligned with your values and priorities.
Your vision is the overarching end point that you are working towards. It could be like Stephanie's goal over at Moved by Purpose. She wanted to move from her day job to owning her own business. That was the big overarching vision.
The goals involved included researching possible jobs, focusing on what she wanted, getting educated, sharing what she was doing, finding clients, and voila! 8 months later she was done with the day job and launched into her new dream job.
I think so many of us start with the big overarching vision. We know the end point. But all those middle points- they get fuzzy.
7. Don't be afraid to say no.
Get used to saying no. To yourself, to good things, to people. Or, it's like a quote I heard on The Leadership Dojo podcast recently, "saying 'yes' to one thing is to say 'no' to a thousand others."
8. Be aware of the resistance that comes with changes. The bigger the change, the more the resistance, from yourself and other people.
One of my dearest friends parents are moving out of state. It's a first for them and it's a huge, hairy, big deal. There's been a number of complications that have occurred but they are keeping their eyes on what they want and are persevering through. It would be "easier" to not pursue the dream in their heart, but they're committed.
The Art of the Restart
Pay attention to feelings and emotions. Don't ignore gut feelings.
Don't be afraid to identify holes and problems. Don't be afraid to end things that aren't working anymore. Don't be afraid to restart.
Re-align with goals. Is what I'm working on/doing going to move the needle to get where I want to go?
It's really hard to say, "what I'm doing isn't working." But even though that may be hard, doesn't mean it's a "fail." In fact, it's courageous. Many people don't re-start. After something happens and it doesn't work out, they give up, afraid of the same negative feelings that come when something doesn't work out like anticipated.
Pivot.
Course correct.
Take action in the new direction.
Keep going.
It's the Art of the Restart.
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