Embrace the Pivot: Navigating Life’s Changes with Grace
By Sara B. Longenecker
When you hear the word “pivot” - what comes to mind? If you grew up playing basketball (or went to countless games to cheer on your best friend, as I did), the word inspires an image of players moving from one place to another on the court, opposing teams in motion, bodies positioned and ready to accept the ball and send it through the air toward the basket. The goal never changes; the aim is always to score. But how many times does a single player have to pivot their stance throughout a game to put themselves in the best possible position? (You know it, and I know it.) Many times. Every player on a team has to continually make small, calculated changes throughout the game to work together as a whole and, ultimately, aim to win. The players pivot their bodies in response to their circumstances, but the goal never changes.
Author and startup guru Eric Ries says, “A pivot is a change in strategy without a change in vision. You cannot have a pivot without vision (that's just wandering around).” While “pivot” has become a part of that eye-roll-inducing corporate slang of the 2020s (along with the overused “circle back,” strangely ambiguous “ping,” and cringe “drill down”), I still find the idea helpful to maintain focus, and ward against a fear of failure. We can think about a pivot in a vocational or career sense, of course, but we can also use this to benefit our families, relationships, and personal goals. Let me explain by sharing some of my personal “failures” and how I’m learning to embrace the pivot.
Around a decade ago, I decided to fold a growing career as a media makeup artist to return to school to study theology. I sold most of my tools and makeup kit to my colleagues in the industry. I shared references for other trusted artists, deleted a carefully crafted website, and turned down jobs. Once the decision was made, I was mostly at peace with all of this... except for that nagging voice whispering the lie that I could be perceived as a failure. What would other people think? (Ugh, that is the worst question.) I knew it wouldn't make sense to many of my peers, but I wanted something different for my life. It was ultimately a pivot of conviction; I needed to find a vocation that aligned with my values and who I wanted to become.
As I entered motherhood and my young family quickly grew, new challenges emerged. I made the decision to quit breastfeeding my middle son after four months of struggle because I felt like I was drowning. I had two pregnancies and births 18 months apart and was now a full-fledged mama-of-boys... and I needed help. At the time, it felt very much like a failure, especially after the mountain I had to climb to learn to nurse my first son. Only now, this time, after so little time to recover, I couldn’t push through any longer. We switched to an organic formula and welcomed a little relief. It was a pivot of practical need, a move to put outside resources to work so I could care for him (and myself) well. I’m so thankful that this was before the height of mommy influencers and the pervasiveness of social media; I'm not sure my heart could have survived the comparison game that so many young moms find themselves trapped inside nowadays.
Several years later, I chose to leave a job that I loved because we were *surprise!* pregnant again. The tears I cried over that decision were from a place of divided love; I loved the organization and mission I was working for, but I loved my children and family more. I knew it was the right thing to pull back for a season, to find our feet as a family of five, but I wondered if I was closing that door forever. Could I pause my vocational growth and hope the opportunity would still be there when I was ready to return? Would this pivot pull me out of the game for good? (Spoiler: It did not!)
In each of these circumstances, I sought counsel from trusted people, talked my options over with my husband, and prayed countless prayers for help and wisdom — but eventually, I had to decide and take action. I had to pivot.
In his inspiring book, Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones to Success, leadership expert John Maxwell writes, “One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge isolated situations in their lives and label them as failures. Instead, they need to keep the bigger picture in mind.”
My “bigger picture” has always been to be a faithful steward of what God has entrusted me with in my current season. At times, this has included school, work assignments, serving at church, and community service/volunteering. Most importantly, I've reminded myself that the flexibility will primarily serve my family. If I am to successfully pivot from one season to the next, as Reis suggests, I must keep my vision intact, even while the strategy changes in response to my circumstances. Instead of falling into the trap of categorizing these isolated events as flat-out “failures,” I’m now thinking about them in a new light: they were signals that something needed to change, that a pivot was necessary.
I want to go the distance, don’t you? For the sake of my family, marriage, and community, I want to remain agile as my circumstances change, all while keeping my “big picture” vision intact. The voice of failure may attempt to persuade us that a single setback is enough to disqualify us from the game altogether, leading us to give up. But I hope that as we face challenges and embrace the pivot, we will become better, more adept players, serving God and our team with all our hearts until the final buzzer sounds.
Sara B. Longenecker holds a B.A. in Bible and Theology and is a professional development consultant for national pro-life organizations. She resides just outside of Nashville, TN with her husband and three boys. Sara enjoys paper books, classic movies, attending Nashville Soccer Club games with her family, and inspiring women to reach their full God-given potential for His glory!
