How you can access your inner wisdom by pivoting your viewpoint

As a nonprofit leader, I know you know there isn't only one way to see things. There is no perfect way to handle a challenge. There is not only one description for a person. We live in a world of many perspectives, viewpoints, possibilities and opinions. 

But sometimes we forget that when we are in our head!

However, applying the truth that there are multiple perspectives to how we tackle leadership can help you be a more confident and effective leader.

So let's learn how to pivot your thinking ??

Your Inner Guidance System Via The Inner Guidance Cycle
​In the last couple of weeks, I walked you through the first two steps of The Inner Guidance Cycle to help you access your Inner Guidance System. 

1 - When you take the first step and PAUSE, you create space to notice what is happening around you and inside you. 

2 - The next stage, PONDER, is about getting curious about your thoughts, feelings, and sensations. 

? When you observe and connect with your thoughts, feelings and body sensations, you gain access to your inner wisdom or your Inner Guidance System.
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? Increased awareness helps you develop confidence, manage your emotions, and much more as a leader.

3 - Today, we are moving on to the third step, PIVOT, which is what to do with what you discover when you've spent some time reflecting.


It's time to shift from unconscious to conscious
The first two steps of the Inner Guidance Cycle have helped you to turn unconscious thoughts into conscious thoughts. We are usually so unaware of what is going on inside us. Because we have not noticed what's happening inside, we also don't realize how our feelings and thoughts impact our confidence levels, our ability to manage our emotions or how stuck we are in a particular perspective.


First, be wary of looping thoughts
Being unaware of repetitive looping thoughts such as, "I can't handle this," allows the idea to become an ingrained belief. Becoming aware that we've had the same thought ten times in the last 3 minutes makes it possible to examine the idea more carefully.


​Conscious thoughts will help you'll start to have insights
When we become more mindful of the fact that we repeatedly have this thought, we can inspect it. Is it true? Maybe not. Or, it is partially correct. You can then ask yourself what parts are true. For example, "It is true that I can't handle it all alone." 

• This new understanding helps us to realize that we may need to learn something new, ask for help or try a different way.

Awareness helps to shift our thinking.


It's time to pivot your thoughts
This change in thinking allows us to see the problem and ourselves differently. Rather than the repetitive thought of; "I can't," we pivot to; "With help, I can handle this." 

Suddenly, the load seems a little lighter and our confidence increases.


​Turing to new ways of thinking and being
Pivoting is turning. It is shifting how we see a person, problem or project. It is changing our perspective. But, the mental shift can do more than just shift our thoughts. Changing our perspective helps us to choose alternate responses, change how we engage with others and sometimes take different actions.


​Understanding your perspective

In Mastering Confidence, I describe our perspective as follows:

? Our perspective is our view or our point of view.
It might be our attitude about something or our opinion of someone. Our perspective is the current place we are looking from. It's our vantage point. 

We see situations, people, and challenges from different vantage points that can change daily, depending on a wide array of things, including how well we slept the night before to an email we just opened. In the same way, we will see situations, people, and challenges much differently, perhaps than a co-worker, boss, or subordinate. So it's important to recognize that there are many different perspectives that we, or anyone else, can have.

The challenge arises when we aren't open to how others see things. Equally challenging is when we resist changing the way we see it. Most of us have tunnel vision. We want to see it only our way. We think our way is the best, the right, or the only way.

Truthfully, though, our view is only one view of everything. No two people have the same view of anything. Our outlook can change dramatically from one day to the next or in a split second. It all depends on what we are thinking. Pivoting requires us to change our thoughts.
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​How To Pivot
To change your thinking, you'll need to examine your thoughts consciously. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help shift your thinking. 
❓ Is this thinking getting me to where I want to be?
❓ How else could I look at this problem, person or project?
❓ What is in my way of seeing this differently?
❓ What would move me forward on this?
❓ Where/who could I ask for help?

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Making Your Pivot​
Pivoting allows you to get from where you are now, which is often stuck, to where you want to be. Think of it as an intersection. 

1 - PAUSE when you get there 

2 - Tune in and PONDER for a moment 

3 - PIVOT by Looking at the direction you are going. Consider the alternatives. 

• Which road ahead of me will get me to the future vision I desire? 
  
  

Next, it's time to PROCEEDING back into action, which is when you head down that path which is the final stage of the Inner Guidance Cycle. More on that in the next blog!

Get the guide to help you PIVOT
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Shift your thoughts and perspectives and you'll be a more confident leader.

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