The Power of the Pivot
I love baseball. Watching baseball, playing baseball; everything and anything about baseball! I love the taste of the greasy hot dogs; the feel of the soft leather glove; the sound of the bat when it makes contact with the ball; the hot sun basking on my face and shoulders.
I came from a family of baseball lovers. Dad was always coaching us kids – both on, and off the field. He offered lots of good advice with the intention of making us better players. As I remember, most of my father’s advice for me centered around batting. “Choke up on the bat”, “Keep your eye on the ball”, etc. I took his advice and tried it all; hoping to ultimately get the bat and ball to connect. When I think back, I was usually pretty good at making contact with the ball, but just never in the direction I had hoped for! That’s when dad would yell ‘pivot!”. The pivot dad referred to, meant making a slight change in my footing. A slight turn. Same goal. Same vision. Just a slight change in approach.
When you think about it, the pivot is helpful advice in many aspects of our lives, whether it’s in business, parenting, or relationships. When things don’t go the way we envision, we don’t necessarily need to change our vision, sometimes we just need to make a pivot in our approach.
As an adult, who somehow manages to sprain an ankle while getting up off the sofa (true story), I now spend more time watching baseball rather than playing. However, I still apply and share dads advice – almost daily. At Comfy Couch Psychology I work everyday with kids who struggle with anxiety. In many cases these kids are consumed by the “what ifs” in life. “What if mom forgets to pick me up from school?”,” What if I fail the test?”, “What if we have a fire drill?”, “What if everyone laughs at me?” When my young clients are overcome with such thoughts, I tell them about the pivot and have them make a small shift in their thinking. I ask them to try and replace the word “what” with the word “even”. “Even if mom forgets to pick me up…,” “Even if I fail the test…”, “Even if we have a fire drill…”, “Even if everyone laughs at me…”. It’s amazing how one little pivot can make such a profound difference.
For more ways to help kids who struggle with anxiety, contact Comfy Couch Psychology, www.comfycouchpsych.com. Remember, keep your eye on the ball and pivot!