Can You Pivot?

Ever had one of those days? You know the kind I am talking about. One of those days when it seems that everything you touch turns to… something icky? It happens to everyone time and again, once in a while. Less frequently now than ever before for me, because I learned a really cool tool for keeping myself from traveling down the road to gloom.

I pivot.

In basketball that means to keep one foot in place while holding the ball and moving the other foot one step in any direction. So now, when I find myself faced with a series of things that aren’t looking so good, I pivot. I don’t have to go far, it doesn’t take that much effort, and I get a different perspective.

Instead of seeing more of what I don’t want (the kind of day I’ve been having up until that point) I know have the power to shift my focus, pivot and ask myself, “What DO I want?” (Usually it’s something decidedly more positive than what I have.)

I have trained myself to look at negativity – what I don’t want – as “contrast”, so I can use it to help define what I do want. You see, once you know what you don’t want, it’s easier to figure out what you DO want.

It’s an amazingly useful skill.

You get what you focus on – so use the power of the pivot to shift your focus when you don’t want to get more of the same old thing.