I love the word pivot! Don’t you?
Pivot, pivot, pivot. It rolls off the tongue with maturity and confidence. The inside joke, of course, is that most of the time a well timed pivot comes with massive risk taking and an inescapable fear of failure. But what the hell, right? No risk, no reward!
I’m turning 35 next week, and depending on where you live on the number chart, you may either find that old, young or equally hard to believe. The strange thing is that for the first time ever I actually feel my age, but in the best way possible. I have been thinking a lot about the Jess in my 20’s who was horribly immature and oh so sensitive about the smallest things. The Jess who is surviving 2024 feels tough as nails in comparison to the Jess that got upset over whatever felt important at 25.
It makes me think a lot about Madison though. What upsets her is relevant to her experiences, and at 19 months old she doesn’t have too much to gauge her every day upsets on. A friend said to me a little while ago, that often what may seem like something silly to us as parents or adults, might be the worst thing that’s happened to our toddler all week, and that really stuck with me. Mommy taking a bite of Madi's dinner (that she can now never get back), may genuinely be the most devastating thing that’s happened to her all day!
That’s both the beauty and the beast of maturity. Maturity means that we've had the lemons tossed our way, often in abundance. We’ve learnt from hardships, losses, heartbreaks and failures. We’ve suffered consequences and dealt with trauma. We’ve started to understand what is really important to us, and what’s actually not important at all.
Maturity allows us to see what’s working and what’s not. To address the need for change. To pivot.
Maturity allows us to see what’s working and what’s not. To address the need for change. To pivot.
Often when we are about to pivot we build the moment of change up in our head.
It’s like when a person develops a new online store and they are gearing up for their big launch day.
Their whole life is revolving around the day their new store goes live and launches to the public. They’ve posted things on their social media for weeks, or done collaborations to spread the word, but when launch day comes it is a massive let down.
Why?
Because everyone else who is not involved is just carrying on with their daily lives. Nobody felt the excitement, stress and anxiety at the same level that the brand owner did before launch day. As far as consumers are concerned it is just another online store.
And over time, this online store may grow and become a massive success, but the point is, that success didn’t all ride on the success of the big launch day. In fact the day of the launch is a non-event, and the pressure for it to be something outrageous should not even be there, because it’s what you do after you launch, change or shift that is really what to counts.
In fact the day of the launch is a non-event, and the pressure for it to be something outrageous should not even be there, because it’s what you do after you launch, change or shift that is really what to counts.
So here’s the take away. If you feel like it’s time to make some changes. Like life is pulling you in a different direction. Like whatever it is that you are doing right now just isn’t working, and maturity, experience and the need for better is telling you that you have to make a change, then maybe it’s time to pivot.
Before you do you need to establish whether the things holding you back are just launch day anxiety, or whether it will hugely impact your current position.
You have to look at the pros and cons, do the numbers, be honest with yourself and if necessary seek some wise counsel, and if all arrows point to change then baby, I say jump in with both feet.
it’s not what happens on day one that builds success, but an accumulation of effort and many good days that results in us living out our best life.
We can’t pivot with one foot left behind, we must twirl and spin completely like a ballerina, confidently in the direction that our heart (and head) is taking us. And once we start to move in that direction we have to keep moving every day, step by step, knowing that it’s not what happens on day one that builds success, but an accumulation of effort and many good days that results in us living out our best life.
There will always be bad days, and we are grateful for them, as those are the lessons that mature us. Those are the days that refine us and teach us how to cope. Those moments ultimately result in better choices somewhere down the line, and isn’t that a wonderful thing.
So darling, if the time has come to pivot, you pivot with all your might! Sending you love and strength and confidence to follow your inner moonlight, always.
All my love,
