Ever feel stuck and unsure whether you should continue trying, come up with a new plan, or just give up?

I get it. I’ve been there. Lately, I’m finding myself having conversations with multiple people who feel stuck in their career, their business, or their life in general. It’s a really sucky place to be.

Let me share what I did to get unstuck.

As a solopreneur, I take on all responsibilities: blog writing, marketing, designing trainings, facilitating, accounting, selling, and so on. For the most part, I don’t have others to collaborate with. Sure, I tap into others for ideas and hire some tasks out, but it does get kind of lonely working all by yourself. After eight years in business, I realized I had accomplished the professional goals I set for myself and my business and was feeling, well, … empty. I found myself asking “what’s next?” I wanted to feel the “fire” again, but I just couldn’t seem to ignite it. I needed to decide if I was going to persist, shift, or desist.

I began with persist. I kept doing what I had always done to get me where I was. If it served me well in the past, perhaps I just needed to tough it out. Nope. It wasn’t fulfilling, and it wasn’t exciting. Sure, I was still delivering engaging keynotes and designing and facilitating quality trainings, but it wasn’t feeding my soul. I began to wonder if what I did was making a difference for people like you and in the places you work.

During this time, I considered selling or closing my business – desist. I began exploring LinkedIn job posts for roles like training director, vice president of organizational development, and learning and development director. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was unwilling to give up many of the things I loved about owning my own business.

So, I began to shift my focus and efforts in a new direction. I began learning more about things I was interested in that could enhance the work I do. I completed a certification in positive psychology. I interviewed over 20 leaders to see if psychological safety was something leaders believed was needed in the workplace (I received a unanimous yes!) Then I began reading everything I could get my hands on related to the subject of psychological safety. Now I am in the process of building some really cool, new things for leaders (… to be announced …). And I’m energized, enthusiastic, and no longer stuck.

My answer was to shift. For you, it may be persist or desist. There is not one right answer. It is your journey.  So start by trying one of the three. If it doesn’t get you where you want to go after a fully committed try, move on the next one. Keep going until you find yourself “unstuck”. I’ll be here cheering you on!