My Goal Failed: 5 Steps to Pivot Towards Success
What do you do when your goal fails?
As an entrepreneur or leader, as in life, there are the highest of highs and lowest of lows.
You can’t live and die by either.
“I don’t believe in failure. Just unsuccessful attempts. ”
What goes up must come down and what comes down must go up.
This could be true for really all things : creativity, output, money, influence, relationships, health, self-satisfaction, etc…
The below picture hangs on my wall to remind me of this natural order. So when I’m in a dip I can gauge how dippy my dip is and when I can expect to pull out of it and the steps I take to pull myself into the UPWARD trajectory.
If I didn’t get the outcome that I intended – what do I want to do?
Accept the outcome and pivot – what else could I do, talk to people, double down on in order to have a successful outcome. (The Agile Method)
Or
2. Ditch the whole idea, blame a half-baked idea, or attach some judgment as to why it shouldn’t have worked or who I can blame for its failure. (The “I Suck Nothing Works Out For Me” Method)
The second option takes me right back to the drawing board. Creating a new idea, starting fresh.
The first, has me pivot.
5 steps to take when a goal fails:
Get really clear on my original vision for what the outcome was. Did I write it down? Clearly state my desired outcome? What was my goal? My Why?
Get curious about what worked and what didn’t.
Did I have a clear plan to achieve my goal with either a SMART goal or reverse engineering my goal?
What do I need to think about, research, discuss with others; Where might I seek out someone who has had success with the goal. What did they do? Can I take a piece of their process or just use them as inspiration that the outcome is possible?
TAKE NEW INSPIRED ACTION.
Repeat.
“Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better. ”