Pivot Check — Persist or Pivot?

"I don't know if this is working or I'm just not trying hard enough."

The problem

You've been at this for a while. You've talked to people. You've tried things. But you don't have the traction you hoped for.

Your brain is torn between two voices: "Keep going, it's too early to quit" and "This isn't working, you're wasting time." You can't tell which voice is wisdom and which is fear.

Most advice is polarized: "Never give up" (survivorship bias) or "Fail fast" (ignores that most things take time). Neither helps you make the actual decision.

The real problem is you don't have clear criteria for what "working" looks like, so you can't evaluate objectively. Without criteria, every assessment is just a feeling.

The leading word: traction

Traction is evidence that something you're doing is producing a repeatable result. Not a single win — a pattern of progress. A pivot is changing direction because the evidence says the current path won't get you there. Quitting is stopping because the destination is wrong.

This skill helps you distinguish between: needs more time, needs a different approach, and needs a different problem.