Give Yourself Grace to Pivot

One of the best, most empowering phrases to help you live intentionally with passion and purpose as God’s beloved is, “Give yourself grace to pivot.”

It’s a profoundly simple idea yet incredibly hard to embrace at times.

Yet, I keep coming back to this over and over again when life doesn’t go the way I think it should.

And, dude, doesn’t that happen – like all the freaking time??

Are you ready to dig into why giving yourself grace to pivot is key to living intentionally with passion and purpose as God’s beloved? Let’s dig in!

This wasn’t the plan!

We’ve all been there.

You’re all set to pursue your big goals and plans, then wham! Life sweeps you off your feet and you’re not sure what to do now.

You had an agenda – this wasn’t on it.

Not surprisingly, pain and unexpected happenings force you to pivot and re-prioritize.

For instance, when my husband and I just celebrated seven years of marriage (woohoo!!) with a long weekend and mid-year retreat, I was so ready to start conquering those goals!

Literally the next day, I swooped our son off the coffee table (a big no-no in our household) and hurt my back.

After a day of hobbling around in searing pain, I tottered into the doctor’s office to learn that I had developed lumbago. Because… obviously. Apparently this isn’t uncommon among parents of young children.

For me, the excruciating back pain changed my plans.

• Instead of checking out a new park with my son, Little Man spent a couple extra days with his grandparents. My back needed a solid break from lifting a toddler who adores being picked up. 🙁
• Rather than cozying up with the laptop to pound out some uber inspirational posts (I aim to please), I paced nonstop and did the MommaStrong Back Fix-Me.
• Since bending and lifting hurt like the bejeezus, my household projects and tasks got tabled.

And… so forth.

It’s okay to pivot

Assuming you’re a human and not a robot (Hello, spam bots! I see you!), this has happened to you. Over and over again.

Sometimes life just doesn’t play fair. And that’s when you (and I) have to pivot.

Let’s repeat this together: It’s okay to pivot.

Sometimes you can’t do-all-the-things because life happens.

Some of these changes are rock-your-socks-off awesome. Some are just icky wet socks.

• Car broke down
• Lost your job
• Got a new job!
• Can’t find a job
• Got exhaustingly sick
• Had a blow-out with a loved one
• Started dating someone!
• Got dumped
• Dumped someone
• Had a baby
• Got married
• Experienced a global pandemic (Hey, that’s all of us!)
• Etc.

Does this mean you should just give up on all your dreams and goals? Heck no!

But, perhaps, you need to give yourself some time to adjust to a new normal.

Maybe it’s a long-term new normal, like having a child. Perhaps it’s a temporary new normal, like hurting your back.

It’s okay to admit that this moment, this season is hard. It’s okay to put a pause on your bigger picture goals to take care of yourself.

It takes time to adjust to the new normal.

Sometimes it requires restructuring your days for the new normal. Sometimes it takes-re-evaluating if your goals are realistic in your new normal.

That’s okay.

Don’t beat yourself up for being human

Honestly, this is the message I need to recite every darn day in the mirror.

Perhaps you do, too.

It’s okay to have to pivot. That’s life. That’s part of being human.

Sometimes the most amazing things happen when life doesn’t go according to plan.

You become stronger than you thought you could be. You forge some amazing relationships.

Your life becomes even richer than you could have planned for.

And sometimes you just need time to recover from the fall-out of unmet expectations.

You take time to retreat. You dial back on as much of your commitments as possible.

You finally admit, “This X isn’t normal. This isn’t healthy. I’m done being ‘okay’ with it.”

Pivoting can give you such freedom, if you let it.

Biblical Encouragement

When I feel like I’m drowning with everything I have on my plate (and in my head), I like to turn to Ecclesiastes.

Within the multiple statements that “life is meaningless” is gold, baby.

See if you can find your current season in the passage below.

Really, LIFE is about pivoting. Things change. All. The. Time. Whether you plan for it or not.

So, give yourself grace to pivot. It’s okay.

You can come back to those goals again. They’ll still be there.

Take a listen: The Byrds – Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season) (Audio)

Two resources to help you start incorporating these tips in your life

Your Turn: When Have You Had to Pivot?

I’m curious – have you ever had to pivot? If so, what came as a result of pivoting? I’d love to hear your story!

You’ve got this. I’m cheering for you!

You can live intentionally with passion and purpose as God’s beloved.

P.S. Want some crazy simple steps to start living intentionally? Grab the Embrace Your Potential Playbook. It’ll help you zoom in on your God-gifted personality and give you practical tips to be more intentional, passionate, and purposeful as God’s beloved so you can become the best version of yourself.