Just imagine you are leading a project and suddenly, there is the proverbial bump on the road preventing it from being completed on time. You quickly recover only to realize that there is another bump and then, another. Quickly, these bumps become a profound pothole preventing you from moving forward. You realize the slow push is becoming even slower to the point of a dead stop. Then, a sense of defeat begins to creep in, and you tell yourself, “Now what?”
My definition of defeat is this heavy dread that is mentally exhausting and physically debilitating where it prevents you from pivoting forward. It is almost like trying to walk through a swamp where lifting your feet are heavy as mud accumulates and, your preoccupied hands are swatting flies and mosquitos away. Regardless if it is rejection or the ominous NO it still has the domino effect where it stuns the other objectives, goals, or projects that you have on your “to-do” list. Because of this, I have decided not to be the victim of defeat but, to overcome and pivot from it. The beauty of this is that you can learn and grow every time this occurs. So, get ready and checkout these empowering steps to pivot over defeat.
- Get Up – Literally get up from your seat and stand-up with your feet spread out shoulder’s width apart. Then, get your shoulders back, lift your chest, raise your head up and take a deep breath. Pranayama is an ancient breathing technique from India which has been proven to improve cognitive function, enhance lung capacity, increase mindfulness, and relieve stress. When faced with any challenge, start by getting up from where you are to take your stance against it.
- Empower You – Finding your power means knowing who you are, where you have been, how you got where you are at, and where you are going. Most importantly, the value proposition you bring to any table. In essence, it is about reflecting and noticing the skill, knowledge, abilities, experience, education, and the overall elements that make up the dynamic person that you are. So, empower you by knowing you!
- Take Notice of Your Influence – Regardless of the situation, there will always be a variety of things you have control over. And of course, the things that you don’t. Own what you can control and acknowledge what you don’t. Easier said than done. The key is being self-aware to know the difference, engage with an objective and agile mindset and be strategic on what you will leverage.
- Up Your Growth Mindset – Speaking of mindset, we humans get very comfortable in our identity, daily grind, and mindless practices (watching social media videos) that feed our oxytocin. That chemical prevents us from being curious of new concepts, being long-life learners and optimistic to change. Changing your mindset takes knowledge and putting it into practice takes skill. So up your growth mindset which will allow you to overcome any challenge so you can pivot on!
- Put It Into Action – William James, famous 19th century psychologist said it best that if we wait for our emotions to make us change, it will never happen. He recommended that we simply take care action, and our feelings will catch up later. I can tell you from experience that he was correct. The feeling of accomplishment, achievement, and success will arrive, but you must pivot forward.
So, GET-UP and pivot forward to face defeat head on. I know it’s hard as sadness can set in. However, start where you are and pivot forward to overcome defeat or any challenge you face!