Sacred Sunday: The Power of the Pivot
Not starting from scratch, but starting from experience.
Good morning Divine Tribe!✨🕊️
I deeply apologize for my absence last week. I aim to be transparent about my struggles on this blog, fostering a community where we can openly share challenges, missteps, and lessons learned. I did not create this blog to provide advice that I wouldn’t follow myself. Today's topic, initially scheduled for last Sunday, made me realize the importance of practicing what I preach. In doing so, I found the clarity needed to move forward with the post and my current goals.
I've been grappling with the challenge of letting go of past life plans that have become unviable, and I'm actively working to shed the shame associated with this process. I'm realizing the power of swiftly altering my mindset, health, and happiness by simply embracing the change in my life’s trajectory. It’s prompted me to reflect: what steps should one take when faced with unexpected disruptions to their life?
You pivot.
piv·ot /ˈpivət/ verb gerund or present participle: pivoting
turn on or as if on a pivot.
(especially in a business context) completely change the way in which one does something.
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
Do You Know What You Want?
Here are some examples of the many ways I’ve attempted to pivot in the past few years alone:
Going to two different colleges to pursue my bachelor’s degree education
Moving to Florida in ANOTHER attempt to finish my degree
Wanting to change my degree to psychology
Interviewing to become a flight attendant
Trying esthetician school
Starting a blog🥰✨
Moving to Arizona to live and work at the Grand Canyon (which was what I was going to announce last week and why this post was delayed)
And the most recent pivot was choosing to stay home a little longer because of a better work opportunity I received in Charlotte.
There were so many paths that felt “right” at the moment, but not all of them were because some of those decisions were swiftly made with the help of my ego while others were made with my intuition.
Your intuition can be a powerful tool to guide you towards pivots that will lead you to a happier and more fulfilling life, and doing so blindly (when it’s safe to) can help you further strengthen it. I know that’s easier said than done because your intuition isn’t always going to tell you what you want to hear, unlike your ego, and we often “hear” from both. To follow the right path towards manifesting our true desires, we have to be able to discern between the two.
First things first: get quiet and listen.
“Your ego’s main job is to protect you — mentally and physically. It’s a powerful job. But because ego is largely influenced by the world in which we live — our past experiences, our hurts, and our fears feed our ego until it becomes too powerful.” - Resilient Educator
Our egos are interested in boosting our superficial image, and pleasing people who further help our egos get seen, not necessarily what’s best for us. Our egos don’t enjoy trying new things due to fear of humiliation or embarrassment, this tends to keep us from breaking free from our comfort zones and self-sabotaging habits that our egos once created to keep us safe.
Here are a few tell-tale signs that your ego is at work:
Fear– If your inner voice is speaking fearfully or anxiously, it’s most likely your ego. Intuition does not stem from these places.
Scarcity– When you feel insecure, lacking, and have a scarcity mindset; intuition is about abundance, confidence, and fulfillment.
Change– Fluctuating ideas, changing viewpoints, inconsistent self-talk — these are characteristics of ego; intuition is steady.
External– Your ego tries to boost itself up by amassing more on an external level. Intuition needs nothing more — it’s intrinsic and divine.
Justification– The ego tries to back up its decisions with a laundry list of reasons. Intuition gives you just one simple answer. No explanation is needed.
Judgment– If your inner voice speaks in judgment or comparison, it’s the ego. Intuition knows only love, grace, and acceptance.
You might be following your ego more than your intuition because its voice tends to be louder, more demanding, and more persistent, while our intuition is usually more subtle and calm. Our intuition is also commonly felt through physical sensations in our stomachs (hence the phrase “go with your gut”), hands, or at the nape of our necks.
While it may provide you temporary pleasure and happiness, long term it’s inadvisable to continue following your ego as it can lead you down a path you’ll eventually realize was not right for you.
Sources: Resilient Educator and Root to Rise Therapy
Taking Control of the Reigns
“Aunt Wu: I'll tell you a little secret, young Airbender. Just as you reshaped those clouds, *you* have the power to shape your own destiny.”
Avatar: The Last Airbender Season/Book 1, Episode 14
My habit of pivoting can sometimes be looked at as an impulsive or indecisive decision. I could attribute those tendencies, along with their negative connotations, to my ADHD. However, I recognize these traits as natural aspects of my personality that I've grown to appreciate, as they positively contribute to my ability to pivot. Where most people would see a person constantly changing their mind and unable to make decisions (which is sometimes true😅), I like to see a person who refuses to settle for anything less than a fulfilling, satisfying, and divine life.
If my intuition isn’t providing me with a full-on YES to a decision, I know deep down I probably don’t want it or it isn’t aligned with my goals and values. My impulsiveness stems from my adventurous nature, fearlessness in taking risks, and eagerness to explore and embrace new experiences.
See Care Counseling’s article The Positive and Negative Consequences of Impulsivity here.
Even if you’re making quick pivots or stuck deciding between a few, you still have to have discernment about the reasonings behind why. Are you chasing after something? Or maybe running away?
With the new moon in Pisces today, we have a significant period to manifest our desires, but first, we must release self-limiting beliefs and step out of our own way. No more holding ourselves back and speaking past fears and pain into our futures!
Ask yourself if you’re truly ready to stand up and tell the universe who you are and what you want. Are you ready to do the required work? Can you accept whatever change is necessary to align yourself with your desires? Because if not that’s okay; maybe the redirection or pivot needed is to go back to the drawing board and figure it out.
The universe cannot fulfill your desires if you don’t believe you’re worthy of them. I’m realizing that we don’t attract what we want, but what we believe we deserve. That is why doing the internal work is so important. Healing, creating boundaries, choosing yourself, and doing what’s right even when it’s difficult WORKS! Show up for yourself the way you want the universe to. It takes strength, courage, and bravery to pull yourself out of stagnation, to remove yourself from a place that is no longer serving you, and to overcome your limitations.
Letting Go of Shame, Stagnation, & Fear
In 2023, I harnessed the power of the pivot to reshape my identity, fostering self-love and establishing boundaries and standards. This shift was essential to combat the stagnancy caused by my complacency and pursuit of unfulfilling endeavors; an attempt to break free from a persistent cycle of guilt, shame, comparison, and victimization. My life wasn’t moving forward because I was too focused on mourning my past.
Healing involves grieving the choices one "should've" made and the unrealized future altered by mistakes. While these feelings are valid and signify growth, dwelling on what could've been sustains low vibrations and attracts further negativity. Our pasts shouldn't dictate our present or future. To move forward, focus on lessons learned and actively apply them to prevent repeating the same mistakes.
The universe might disrupt our plans to present us with better opportunities; it’s wise to embrace this redirection. It doesn't mean failure or abandoning dreams. Resisting the necessary pivots impedes change, but embracing the mess can catalyze your transformation. Life's unpredictability should be embraced, acknowledging that it won't always align with our expectations.
How did I let it all go?
I’m glad you asked!
It hasn’t completely happened yet. I know internally, that it’s one of my last major humps to get over, and to do so I have to learn to stop prioritizing the opinions and perceptions of others over my own.
It's challenging when others perceive me as a past, weaker version of myself; fueling my anxiety and causing me to carry unnecessary doubt, fear, and worry. It’s caused me to wonder if there’s a functional reason why it’s difficult for me to release this. Sometimes, the environment we’re in can hinder our growth and healing, while other times, it's a subconscious choice to maintain a victim role for comfort. Regardless, it's valid to pivot and seek a space for personal development and freedom.
But if that isn’t an option, my friend recently reminded me that there are small ways to provide yourself with a sense of newness and change right where you are already:
Rearrange your bedroom.
Go on a road trip to a new city.
Get out of the house and explore more of the town/city you’re in.
Try out new hobbies and listen to new music.
Make new friends and be around people that calm your nervous system, not trigger it.
Pivoting won't be an end-all cure-all and not every change will be right for you, but it's empowering to recognize our lack of limitations. Embrace being a jack of all trades – mastery isn't mandatory for each! Through exploration, you might discover your genuine passions, as I have. You won’t be starting over from scratch, but from experience.
And that leads me to my last announcement, after some consideration I’ve decided to pivot the Sacred Sunday newsletter to a bi-weekly schedule! So for my free subscribers, you can catch the next newsletter on March 24th.
I hope you all have a divine rest of your day!💛