It’s Okay to Pivot! PIVOT!

Whenever I hear the word “pivot" I always think of the Friends episode where they are trying to move a sofa up the staircase and Chandler repeatedly yells "Pivot! Pivot!  PIVOT!!!!”

I embrace and love the word “PIVOT.”  I’m all about experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t work.

It’s okay to go a different direction during your day(and life), even when you had a plan. Even when you had it all mapped out.

This week is a good example of that for me.

I had planned on writing content. I had this whole grand plan in my head of what I was going to get done. And then I felt this pull to just be with my family. To spend time with my husband and my dad.

Both of my girls were gone for the weekend.  One was in Virginia visiting her boyfriend at Virginia Tech, and the other was in Cambridge, MA. 

And instead of pushing through what I had planned, I listened to that pull. PIVOT!

We went to breakfast with my dad. My husband and I went furniture shopping. We came home, handled a couple things, and honestly, I don’t even remember everything we did.

It was just a relaxed day.

And it felt good.

Today was similar. We went to get soil for planting. We came home and mowed the yard. I mowed for six and a half hours.  It was so much fun!  I love to mow.  

My dad and I made a small mistake with the mower fuel, and now my husband is draining the line.  Oops.

Life.

But through all of it, the reminder stayed the same:

Do what you love.

Or at least, do what feels aligned in that moment.  

Think about how you want to feel each day.

Because if what you’re doing isn’t making you feel light, or energized, or even okay… it might be time to pivot. PIVOT!

Now, that doesn’t mean we ignore responsibilities. There are things we must do. Work, commitments, all of that.

But even within those, there’s usually a little bit of space.

A little bit of choice.

Maybe it’s shifting something to later when you have more energy.

Maybe it’s making the task lighter in some way.

Maybe you say no because you realize it wasn’t your responsibility anyway.

Because when you push through something while you’re completely drained, it doesn’t always go well. It can lead to mistakes. It can lead to burnout. Sometimes even injury.  I have a lot of experience with misalignment and the burnout and injuries that can occur to wake you up. This will be another blog post.

It’s about checking in with yourself.  Getting to know your body’s signals when you are out of alignment or need to redirect in a particular moment.  PIVOT!

Where are you at right now?

And what do you have the capacity for today?

If all you have the capacity for is doing the bare minimum, that’s ok.

There is nothing wrong with that.  We have been conditioned to believe that doing the bare minimum is a negative thing.  I’m here to tell you it is not.  

It’s what your body and your mind need at that moment.

Yes, there are moments where we do need to push. But not everything requires that level of force.

You get to choose how you move through your day.

Changing the plan may be the most aligned thing today. PIVOT!