Growing You!

Lately, I have read many messages about women wanting or considering making career pivots. I applaud any person who sets out to improve their life or situation, to reach a new level of self-fulfillment, or to live their best life possible. It takes courage to make this step. Making a pivot seems to be quite a bit like growing a garden. It requires much effort to do it and to do it in a way that will yield a good outcome. By far, I’m not an expert in gardening but this spring we started a variety of flowers from seed. We started later than expected because of COVID but we still made the commitment to do it. All of the following are aspects of our gardening adventure that parallel making a pivot: 1. Thoughtful planning – timing and knowing what you will need throughout the process is important. We had a seed and sow timeline and kept looking ahead in terms of what materials/supplies we might need. In terms of making a pivot, do you have a plan? Have you worked out a reasonable timeline to work toward? What are some key milestones for yourself – self-assessment, personal SWOT, visioning, information gathering and research are some of the important steps to take when making a big change for yourself. Do you have the supplies and support will you need to make the transition? You can rely on books, coaches, online training to help you out. 2. Patience – our seeds took time to germinate and initial growth was slow for a period of time. You can’t rush these things! Are you prepared to remain patient and “work the process”? Pivots do not happen overnight and keeping yourself calm and anxiety free during what may seem like prolonged periods of incremental growth can be hard. What are you doing in these periods? How do you manage your frustration or concerns? Journaling, meditation, talking to others are all great ways of staying patient and keeping everything in perspective during your growth process. 3. Consistent care – tending to seedlings that were growing into something bigger required consistent water and light. I moved the plants all around my house, getting to the perfect light. How are you consistently managing your own care? Are you nourishing and cultivating your growth daily? Are you making it a priority for yourself? Setting a time aside each week or day to do something pivot related will give you tiny successes along your path that you can build off. 4. Persistence – not all of my seedlings turned into beautiful plants. Some of the plants did not fair well with the transplanting or the new environment. Yet, I did not give up on the others. How are you remaining persistent when you face barriers? What are you doing when you hit a dead end or something unsuspected in your pivot? Do you give up? Retreat? Or persist? Keeping your eye on your vision and what you ultimately want to achieve can be helpful. Incorporate your vision and long term goal in your day to day. 5. Appreciation – I took pictures of my plants as they grew and I spend time pruning back areas so new growth can occur. Are you appreciating the growth you have made? How do you celebrate your accomplishments and milestones? Are you continuously finding ways to love the new path you are on? Gratitude and self love is important during any transition; even small celebrations like a new book or a creative selfie session that reminds you of where you are and who you are becoming is a way to recognize your accomplishments. Share them with others, too, so that they can continue to support you! Certainly, there are many other activities for growing a perfect garden; yet, everyone will create their own gardens in their own way and time. The same applies for personal pivots. Do not forget that beauty and great things lie ahead. Keep at it!