Feel The Need To Pivot Your Direction As You Reflect On The Past Year?

January 17, 2023

Reflecting on the past year, are you creating the life you dream of? Are you setting measurable goals toward your desires? When an obstacle presents itself, are you able to push through and not give up? But are you so tenacious that you don’t see that maybe you should pivot? Knowing when to work diligently and when to pivot will determine whether you succeed or take a misstep.

When should you exert more effort and push through, and when should you change course? It’s directly tied to your success, and your capacity to push beyond challenges one after another, but it’s equally crucial to have the wisdom and skills to recognize when to step back, reevaluate, and pivot.

If all you do is keep your head down and continually plow through, how do you know if what you’re doing is what needs your focus? You need to pull your head up to ask, are your efforts in this area paying off? Are you still going in the direction you want to go? When you look back at your development over the past year, is it time to pivot into a new direction?

Accept the fact that you are the pivot along which the loads of your efforts will turn. Acknowledge yourself as the chairperson at the center of affairs management for your dreams. Take the chair and be at the forefront. ~ Israelmore Ayivor

Evaluation Of Your Life

So, what are your goals? Write them out and review them. Are they realistic? If you don’t think you can obtain the goal, then remove it because you already have the belief that you can’t reach it. How will you know you’ve reached the goal? This is where being measurable comes into play. Now, look at the resources you have to move toward your objective. How will you make time for this goal? Do you have the finances to get it completed?

Some individuals recommend making irrational goals to inspire you to reach your next level. I agree you should dream big and aim higher. But there are both lofty ambitions and simply downright sad aspirations. Spend some time evaluating where you are, where you want to be, and whether you have the means to get there. You want to put in the effort to create a wonderful life, but you also want to feel you are making progress along the way instead of getting frustrated.

For you to be productive, you need to prioritize your goals. Yes, you can work on all of them, but it’s better to focus on one at a time. It will make clear what receives the greatest attention and what receives the least, depending on the resources you have. This also helps you to get and stay excited instead of stressed about something you want to do.

Pivoting is not the end of the disruption process, but the beginning of the next leg of your journey. ~ Jay Samit

Pivoting Is A Mindset

Change, even when you want it, doesn’t mean it’s easy. The same is true of pivoting.

Things will change, frequently, and in ways, you may not choose, is one thing you can count on in life. So why not improve your ability to change and at handling change? Why not adopt the mindset of pivoting? Because if you do, these shifts won’t be as abrupt and shocking. It would be impractical to know that change is inevitable, but not attempt to improve one’s ability to handle it.

You can never be wrong in a pivot as long as your actions are intentional. This suggests you are deciding to pivot and re-prioritize as long as new information is in line with your objectives. It’s also because you are learning the lessons you need to on your path.

Now, to maintain the momentum, you must recognize and appreciate your victories. Every time you complete a task toward your objective, celebrate. You need to stop and simply give yourself a pat on the back, or remark, “Nice job!” When you accomplish something, you want to reward yourself with something that makes you feel happy and serene and aligns with your goals.

The strategy is a living, ever-evolving pivoting mechanism. ~ Pearl Zhu

Signs You Should Pivot

Being tired and bored with your life. Without getting worn out, a person might work twelve hours a day doing what they enjoy. Others, however, might work for eight hours doing something that is not in line with whom they are, and feel too exhausted to do anything but sleep. Then drearily go through the same thing again the following day. So, do you feel burned out from the work you do? Or are you proud and excited? If you insist on carrying on with the activities you loathe, your body will eventually let you know. This is a sign that you should pivot.

Being consistently unhappy with specific areas of your life. You lose a day from working on significant, challenging, and gratifying projects if you stay an extra day in a job or relationship where you feel there is no room for growth. Stop being unhappy and stop making excuses for yourself. Pivot those parts of your life that you categorically dislike so you can focus all of your energy on exploring new possibilities and starting a new adventure.

Change occurs when excuses pivot to execution. ~ Ryan Lilly

How To Pivot With Ease

Give yourself time, maybe a week, to go through your emotions, let go of your anger, and begin concentrating on your goals. Use this period for mourning, detachment, purging, moving on, and beginning the exploration of new possibilities.

Discuss your interests, experiences, and goals with others. Never undervalue the influence of friends of your tribe. Even while your friends and former coworkers may know you well, it’s mutual friends’ secondary connections that broaden your horizons.

Runners don’t look back when they’re sprinting ahead, and neither should you. Once the momentum builds, you’re going to get into the flow. Work won’t feel like work. Your performance becomes natural in the ebb and flow.

Accept risk and uncertainty, but understand that these are distinct concepts. The best things in life sometimes involve the unknown. Take measured risks and recognize that uncertainty has two sides. There is also a sense of potential amid uncertainty.

Whenever something unexpected comes your way, say yes. When you are open, the universe will surprise you with what it can bring about.

If everything goes according to plan, you’ve undoubtedly missed out on some incredible chances and shortcuts to your goal. Sometimes you aim for the sun, but because its trajectory isn’t straight, you need to make course corrections and detours to get there. Maintain your pivots—you never know when you’ll make a quantum leap.

Pivoting isn’t Plan B; it’s part of the process. ~ Jeff Goins

Moving Forward

Nowadays, being productive is viewed as a badge of honor. You must examine your intentions for performing the productive tasks you’re doing. Is it improving your life or moving you toward your goal?

Being successful at the expense of enjoying your life is not worth it. Even though you will have busy times, stop to appreciate them by being fully present. There is no rush to decide. You should take things slowly and give each item on your to-do list a clear intention. Celebrate your victories, pet the puppy, or read a book. Because there is always enough time for everything you need to do.

Although the pivot will vary each time, you will always pivot to a healthier, happier, and more productive state. The circles of life are many. The goal of pivoting is to change your strategy when something isn’t working, rather than trying to win every battle.

The most crucial thing is for you to stop believing that you should, would, or could be anything other than who you authentically are and what you want to be. You are the writer of your life story because you are the creator of your life.

Plan for the future. But also be ready to pivot if a new opportunity comes your way, or if you discover something that was not part of the master plan–makes your heart sing and your mind buzz with possibilities. ~ Michele Norris

Do you need help to look back over the past year and to see where you may need to pivot? Are you looking for support to consciously make a pivot with ease? Do you want a strategy to help you create an extraordinary life? If so, please get in touch with me, and we can put together an action plan for you to pivot toward your dreams.

To discover different ways I pivoted in my life, you can do so by reading my book, Raven Transcending Fear, available on Amazon or you can go to RavenTranscendingFear.com for more information.