By Darrel L. Hammon
Six principles to help you move in a new direction, change your view, and improve and enhance your life.
The word pivot can be both a noun and a verb. When I was growing up in Idaho, home to probably the best potatoes on the planet, many farmers began to expand and convert large chunks of land into huge potato fields and other crops. They needed a way to control water irrigation of these large tracts. Thus, the “pivot” was invented to create a mechanized way to manage a consistent irrigation pattern.
“Pivot” irrigation equipment moves around in fields, and it monumentally changed the way farmers irrigated potatoes and other crops in their ever-growing production chain. Now, instead of scratching their heads and fretting about consistent irrigation methods, they could water thousands of acres of crops by installing massive pivots throughout their farms and grow enormous amounts of hay, grain, potatoes, beans, corn, and a host of other crops that feed the world. They did all this by learning to pivot in a variety of ways.
In my younger days, I loved to play basketball. I learned the hard way that you cannot hold the ball and move both feet around. It’s called “traveling,” and you must give up the ball to the other team if you do it, thus losing possession. To be able to move around while holding the ball, you must keep one foot—the pivot foot—planted on the floor while you moved the other foot, which can pivot around in any direction.
In our lives, we experience some of these same challenges, perhaps more similar than we can imagine. We, too, stare out into our fields of dreams and wonder how we are going to make them grow and come to great and life-changing fruition. Repeatedly, then, we need to plant a pivot in our lives so we can turn to make changes, hopefully in directions that will improve and enhance our lives.
So, how do we pivot in life? Let’s discuss six principles.
1. Pivoting is merely learning how to make life changes.
Often, we suffer from paralysis when attempting to do something different. We feel comfortable in what we are doing, but we don’t like what we are doing. We feel stagnant in our jobs and/or our lives—but the thought of change frightens us. What we must understand is that pivoting simply means that we make incremental changes. Changes don’t have to be giant steps to one side or the other. Rather, they just need to be big enough to move us in a different direction. Thus, we pivot to a new direction, a new view.
2. Pivoting does not mean quitting.
Frequently, when we find ourselves in a situation that we need to change, we believe we have to quit our job, whatever we are doing at the moment, and radically change the direction we are going. Sometimes we do have to stop what we are doing and contemplate our next move. However, often we don’t necessarily have to quit—just pivot—sometimes a degree or two, maybe more.
3. Pivoting requires foresight mixed with hindsight.
One of the equations in strategic planning is F + P = PR (Future + Past = Present). We need to know where we have been, know where we want to go, and that decision becomes our present. Once we know where we are going, pivoting comes into play, so, we pivot to where we want to go. The amazing part of pivoting is that even a slight pivot can change our direction and give us a new perspective and view because we see things differently, thus helping us see the future more clearly.
4. Pivoting is a natural way of changing directions.
Throughout our lives, we have always had to pivot in some way. I started first grade in the same house and lived there until I was 19 years old. For the first three grades, I went to one school. For 4th through 6th, I went to another school and a brand-new school for the later part of 6th grade; for 7th-8th grade, I traveled seven miles to another school; for 9th grade, I attended a different school; and then for 10th through my senior year, I traveled seven miles in a different direction—all the time living in the same house. I had to pivot for every school change. Granted, many other students did the same thing. Sometimes, we went to a different city, and students from other communities joined us. Environments changed; some friends changed. Pivoting happened almost daily. Then, when I was 19, I served a mission for my church in southern Chile, thousands of miles from my home in Menan, Idaho. Population 596. Talk about a major pivot for two years—a new language, new culture, new country, new friends, new food, and big black boots for the rain. Pivoting is what we all have done throughout our lives. It’s just what we do.
5. Pivoting allows you to see life in 360-degree mode.
The best part of pivoting is that we can ultimately see ourselves and the world in 360-degree mode if we choose. Seeing life “in the round” can be highly influencing, enlightening and refreshing. Seeing the 360-degree view allows us to become more holistic, so we can observe and feel the whole view, not just the narrow focus that disconnects us from everything around us. We must see all to be able to see ourselves in the true light, our own best selves.
6. Pivoting can be pivotal in life.
Pivoting periodically in our lives can produce the results we have always desired. It is essential that we pivot. If we are not progressing and growing, we are retrogressing. There really isn’t such a thing as stagnation. Each pivot can be a critical step in our lives. Even members of our team can pivot to help us see differently and gain a new perspective. Together, we can learn to change our lives and our organizations for the best possible future.
Our lives are full of pivot points. Some we take; some we don’t. Sometimes we kick ourselves for not pivoting at the right moment. The key always hinges on pivoting when we need to change.
Sometimes you have to pivot to capture a better view and position yourself for the success you want and deserve in life. Whatever your reason, don’t hesitate. Begin pivoting now!
Darrel L. Hammon has been dabbling in writing in a variety of genres since his college days, having published poetry, academic and personal articles/essays, a book titled Completing Graduate School Long Distance (Sage Publications), and a picture book, The Adventures of Bob the Bullfrog: Christmas Beneath a Frozen Lake (Outskirts Press). He also was the editor of the Journal of Adult Education (Mountain Plains Adult Education Association). Most of his essay/article writing has focused on topics about growing up, leadership, self-awareness, motivation, marriage/dating, and educational topics. Some of these articles/essays are in Spanish because Darrel is bilingual in Spanish/English, having lived in Chile, Dominican Republic, and southern California, and having worked with Latino youth and families all of his professional life in higher education. He has two blogs, one for personal writing at http://www.darrelhammon.blogspot.com/ and one for his consulting/life coaching business (http://www.hammonconsults.blogspot.com/). You can listen to a poem titled “Sprucing Up” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihTmuOUIAEI.