THE PIVOT: How to Navigate a New Season of Life with Clarity and Purpose

The Quiet Realisation

There comes a point in life where you realise, you’re not just entering a new chapter, you’re stepping into a completely new season.

I've been thinking about this more than ever over the last year; call it reflections of a quinquagenarian, and I'm pretty sure I am not alone especially if you are also ‘Generation X’.

What will the second half of life look like? Hold that thought as I’ll come back to this later in the blog with what I am doing to give me ‘personal growth’ and what I’m working towards.

Back to this thread and my ‘spiritual awakening’.  You get to a point, and you give yourself a long hard proverbial stare in the mirror.  Suddenly your past and present hit you in Dickensian way that means alignment to your ‘purpose’ or your ‘calling’ is on an ever-decreasing hourglass. Some may call it the ’epiphany’ moment or the ‘what is the meaning of life’ moment but matters not what you call it but that you take a moment to have a time-out and reflect.

Carl Jung defined "individuation" (1) as integrating all parts of the psyche to become a whole person, moving beyond the persona or "mask" worn in the first half. Using the term ‘masked’; we are constrained by circumstance and naivety that is only shed when we have our own personal epiphany moment.

So it isn't because something is necessarily broken although that is often the trigger; we can put it purely down to human psychology and part of the natural process of growing wiser. Good way to frame this concept.

Essentially, I’d like to add my own re-frame and say it is a move from ego-driven dominance to ego-mindfulness and better control. In summary, there is therefore a shift as you enter a new season of your life; internally, there’s a growing sense that something must change.

The Tension of The Pivot

You begin to feel drawn toward something new. A different direction, a new expression of who you are. In essence the forging of a new identity. The challenge is that life doesn’t pause while you figure this out which is tricky because it seems (in reality this could be a time immemorial problem) that we’re balancing more than ever currently:

• Family: Children and the other age spectrum, care for parents
• Work: Bread and butter that puts food on the table
• Commitments: Any voluntary / charity giving back
• Social: A digital identity that is true to our personal brand
• Wellbeing: Just trying to stay on top of all the above to remain sane and healthy

So we want to do something fresh and new that ticks the purposeful living box.  It’s not difficult because of a lack of desire; but because we have all the above creates friction that is preventing us from making any meaningful progress.  Difficult because of everything we already carry and then adding another chunky item to the list. To quote John McEnroe “You cannot be serious?!”

Hence why I have been wanting to start ‘The Pivot’ to not only help me but also to help others like me.

What ‘The Pivot’ Really Is

‘The Pivot’ is not about sudden impulsive action.  It is a movement for progressive change and it’s about recognising we have ‘one life’ and an opportunity to shape it and if there is something that will light us up in the next season then we should ‘carpe diem and make your lives extraordinary’ to paraphrase a famous film quote (2).

Choosing the next direction one step at a time with intention. Not reacting. Not drifting. But committing.  Then one of the most important factors is to be part of a community designed and built to support the journey.

Your Invitation to be a Founding ‘Pivoter’

This is why I’m starting this blog (thank you Andy) and sharing an invitation to be a founding member of The Pivot and opportunity to join the ‘Mastermind’.  An intentional space for people navigating this exact transition.

Open, honest, grounded conversation with others who understand what it means to be between seasons.

Final Thoughts

If this resonates, you’re likely closer to your next season than you realise.

Oh yes and coming back to what the post 50 half of my life could look like…so I’m being seriously intentional and optimistic with the aim of working to ‘LIVE STRONGER FOR LONGER’.  It’s helped me become a new version over the recent years; a more resilient, calmer, happier and more at peace version of myself. I’ve called this to ‘GET LIFE FIT’ and their is no gym involved.

My personal strapline is being ‘STRONGER FOR LONGER’ a life span that can take us towards being healthy ‘centenarians’); the part where I am looking to align to my true ‘whole’ self, concerned with becoming one's true, whole self.

References

• https://scottjeffrey.com/individuation-process/
• Quote from ‘Dead Poets Society’ by John Keating played by Robin Williams