Do you lack excitement and adventure because your business is too predictable? Are you struggling with motivation and creativity in your day-to-day (because a teacher or coach told you to be consistent and now . . . well you're uninspired)?

Do you feel like every week, or even every day, you're doing the same tasks over and over again and now your mission-based, "love-child" (a.k.a. your business) feels like a job?

Whether you realize it or not, it’s easy to get caught up doing the same things again and again, week after week. 

Sometimes, these routines bring you comfort and peace.

But left undisturbed for too long, your routines become dull and make you feel discontent with your business. You feel uninspired or disconnected from your creative flow.

It can also lead to falling out of the sacred business practices that keep you aligned in your life's work and legacy. Here are a few signs that it might be time to spread your wings and look for your next business adventure…

SIGN #1: YOU DON'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU WERE CHALLENGED

You’ve been going through the motions for months or years now. Your business isn’t stimulating you. Those favorite hobbies of yours aren’t thrilling you any more. Your passion projects aren’t making you excited to wake up in the morning.

The truth is most of us do our best growing when we’re challenged. If you take away challenges, you can quickly stagnate and start to feel like you're not fulfilling your greatest potential. But really, it's simply because you're not stretching to your growth zone. 

SIGN #2: YOU'VE GONE THROUGH A BIG TRANSITION

You've gone through a "dark night of the soul" that has shifted your entire world and now you're experiencing a spiritual awakening. You have an inner knowing that this experience and these life lessons are to be weaved into what you now teach, coach or write about in your next book.

But how?

Perhaps you're recovering from an illness, injury, or other personal trauma and you're trying to heal from this challenging situation. You still want to work, but you need to figure out a new work/life balance while you're still healing. 

Maybe you're expanding your coaching, healing or freelance business, but you’re struggling to figure out how to pivot and create new offers your clients need and want to buy. So, you're stuck with lots of questions and no answers.

After (or during) a big transition, it’s the perfect time to plan a new business adventure. That’s because your business (or life) has shifted and you have space to reevaluate what you want.

Maybe your "dark night of the soul" has stirred up new personal desires you want to pursue, like a new hobby such as painting, Perhaps the pivot in your business needs a little more breathing room so you can develop an aligned plan for what is next.

SIGN #3: YOU'RE BORED

You frequently find yourself spacing out when you should be working on your business. Or you find yourself scrolling social media posts even though you're scheduled to finish an article for your website. You shutdown your computer after a long day and rather than do a meaningful activity, you find yourself escaping into TV or gaming for hours at a time.

Everyone needs to chill sometimes. But if you’re routinely checking out of your own business, that’s a major clue you need to spice things up and consider trying a new adventure.

SIGN #4: YOU'RE PLAYING SMALL WHILE DREAMING BIG

You dream of more than what you’re doing right now. Maybe you want to start that podcast you keep talking about. Perhaps you want to interview people and finally hire a VA to help you so you're no longer overwhelmed.

How about that book you've been wanting to write?

Whatever your dream, you keep tucking it away in a corner of your heart. You promise yourself you’ll get to it when you have “more” – more time, more money, or more energy.

Only that day hasn't come yet.

SIGN #5: YOU NEVER SHAKE THINGS UP

Do your friends joke that they can set their alarm clocks by your routine?

Are your behaviors and weekly schedule too predictable?

Do you do the same things each day, never varying in your routine?

While it’s OK to be predictable, there is such a thing as becoming too set in your habits. You can actually cut off your opportunities to new experiences when you get into a rut.

If you never try to break free from your "habits" (and I'm using that word loosely because there's a fine line between habits and needing to control everything) you'll miss out on the freedom and spontaneity that comes with wonderful business adventures.

SIGN #6: YOU FEEL RESTLESS

You carry an energy with you that makes it hard to sit still. Whatever you’re doing in the moment, it never seems like quite the right task. You find it hard to make decisions, bouncing between multiple goals and projects.

Feeling restless can be a sign that your mind and body are craving a new adventure. When you’re used to doing the same things again and again, you go into “autopilot mode” where you simply do what you’ve always done.

This is helpful when you need to accomplish routine tasks, but left too long in autopilot mode, your brain becomes restless. You’re not being challenged and you start to feel this excess energy in your body. You can’t seem to get rid of the "stuckness" and therefore, become increasingly restless.

SIGN #7: YOU'RE LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH OTHERS

You spend your time on social media, studying what other influencers are doing. Are you listening to your friends’ stories of travel, new business partnerships, or their amazing business projects with rapt attention, wishing you were in their place?

It’s natural to mentally walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, every now and then. It can be fun to imagine another life. But if you’re trying to live vicariously through other people, it can be a sign that something exciting is lacking in your own life.

SIGN #8: YOU CAN'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU FAILED

This could be a topic that makes you feel uncomfortable. And guess what? That's what I want.

Humans are programmed to avoid failing. The ego has a lot at stake and it works very hard to not look bad, be embarrassed, feel shame, or be judged by others. And aspiring "business-empire" entrepreneurs can shy away from trying new things because of their anti-failure mindset. They want a guarantee that something will work BEFORE they attempt it.  They want to know that it's a sure thing. And because they never get the guarantee, they never try. 

Nothing is a sure thing.

Even when you get it. There's no guarantee that you'll keep it.

But here's the thing, you're ensuring one outcome.

You won't get what you want because you're not going for it. The proof that you're going for your goals and stretching yourself to grow your business are in the "fails".

Simply . . . you cannot have success without failures.

Failure has nothing to do with whether or not you can achieve something. It's just part of the journey. It's how we learn, it's how we get better at what we do, it's how we gain more empathy for others, it is how we become leaders.

Stop shrinking yourself to fit your limiting beliefs!

Don't let your considerations overshadow your purpose or your greater global contribution. Your purpose, mission, or movement cannot fully manifest until you clear your internal conflicts.

Don’t fear failure — not failure, but low aim is the crime. In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail. ― Bruce Lee

SIGN #9: YOU'RE COASTING ON PAST SUCCESSES

You were saleswoman of the year twenty years ago. In the past, you ran a multi-million dollar company. You started a successful organization, wrote a book, or launched a speaking career years ago.

But well, you aren’t doing that stuff anymore.

Or . . .

  • You’re still speaking on the same circuits—you haven’t tried for bigger audiences.
  • You haven't gone after more profitable donors—you’re still doing the same fundraisers.
  • You’re still writing the same books—you haven’t experimented with a new genre or publishing house.

Some people find a certain amount of success and set up a permanent camp there.

It might be you’re scared to fail on a larger level. Perhaps, you doubt you can go any further. It may be that you’re worried about taking chances because you're an established professional or influencer in your field. Whatever your reason, you’re still relying on past successes rather than taking new chances in the present.

SIGN #10: YOU'RE READY FOR A CHANGE

You’ve been living in a situation that you’ve spent months or years accepting. Maybe you thought you couldn’t do something big and bold. Perhaps you doubted you were strong enough or experienced enough to make a change. Maybe you let others talk you out of your dreams.

Well, today is the day you can shout, “No more!” You don’t have to accept that the way things are now is the way they’ll always be. You have the power and the potential to change your life at any moment you choose.

CHANGE CAN BE LIBERATING

When people think of change, they feel scared at first. This is a natural reaction to the unknown. But while change can certainly feel overwhelming, the truth is it can also be incredibly liberating.

And when you have support and guidance from a coach or friend who has been down that path before, you can feel more confident that you too can have what you want. Others achieving the dreams you visualize for yourself (in business and in life) is proof that it can be achieved.

Imagine waking up tomorrow and feeling content, energized and excited to face your next adventure. All because you were bold enough to make a thrilling new choice today!

As we approach the end of the year, I'm curious what your 2021 business adventure will be.

How will you show up differently in 2021 so when you reflect back, you can say it was the greatest adventure of your life?

What do you want to achieve in your business that can be the catalyst to you fulfilling your deepest yearnings and financial abundance?

How can I best support you and co-create your most adventurous and abundant year to realize your greatest desires and live your life fulfilled?

If you're unsure of what could be your next adventure, but you're inspired by the idea of setting your GPS for a new business adventure, I invite you to book a FREE "Breakthrough to New Business Possibilities: The Feminine Way" session with me to find out.

About the author 

Melissa Etherton

Melissa Etherton is a Sacred Business Creatrix and Mentor helping visionary women Soulpreneurs create their soul-led business that transforms the greatest challenge of their life into the greatest contribution to the world.

Melissa specializes in helping women align and embody their inner desires WITH their outer destiny. Utilizing on-purpose principles and love-based business practices that she uncovered as the missing pieces in her soulful business, she is now showing women coaches, facilitators, professionals, and feminine leaders how to build their business with aligned tools and practices.

She walks the shadow-y journey, disrupting the status quo and helping women connect with their true self and life's work.

Wholeness is the destination and your soul-led business is the vehicle!

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