The Art of the Pivot

“PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT!” — Ross Geller, Friends (Season 5, Episode 16). Sure, Ross Geller was talking about a couch, and he was in his late twenties/early thirties, but no quote has ever remained quite so true to a girl in her mid-twenties trying to find her way.

The only thing certain in life is uncertainty. I mean, I thought I was guaranteed a senior-year prom, but I graduated in 2020, so you know how that went. (Spoiler alert: it did not happen.)

Since then, I have learned that life has a funny way of changing the plan. And when the plan changes, you have two choices: panic or pivot. I had to learn the art of the pivot. 

Pivot (verb): to adapt or improve by adjusting or modifying something, such as a product, service, or strategy. — Merriam-Webster

Sounds simple enough, right? Just adjust the plan and keep moving. In reality, pivoting is a lot messier than that. Sometimes you have a plan, sometimes you have no idea what you are doing, and sometimes you are just trying to figure out what the next step is while hoping you are making the right choice.

Let me take you back to 2023: a recent college graduate ready to take on the world.

I did everything “right.” I graduated from a “Public Ivy” in six semesters, Summa Cum Laude, with internships and jobs under my belt. I thought I was unstoppable. I believed that my years of working toward the next thing would eventually add up to some sort of guarantee.

Except life doesn't really work that way.

True or False: The best stories are about people who get everything right the first time.

Answer: False.

The interesting part is what happens when things don't go according to plan. The underdog gets knocked down. The protagonist takes the wrong turn. Someone gets rejected, loses the job, misses the opportunity, or realizes the dream they were chasing isn't actually the dream they want anymore.

They pivot. They learn. They grow.

(See also: Ross Geller.)

So, naturally, when I graduated in 2023, I thought I was ready for my next chapter. What I wasn't ready for was how many times I would have to rewrite it.

No professional job lined up after college? No problem. I found jobs in my college town, which gave me a little extra time to enjoy being with friends and decompress after years of running full speed ahead. PIVOT!

Finally landed a dream internship? Great! Except internships have end dates. That date eventually came, and suddenly I was back to figuring out what came next. PIVOT!

I found another opportunity, learned what I could, and kept moving. Then I needed a full-

time job. 

Yes, I was happy with what I was doing. But I was so concerned with what came next, and whether I was being “successful,” that I forgot to ask myself a much more important question: What do I actually want out of my life, not just my career? 

Panic or pivot?

The answer, of course, was PIVOT!

An opportunity to work as an Entertainment Hostess with Disney Cruise Line came up. And this wasn't just another job opportunity. It was the job I had wanted most as a kid, the kind of job I had once convinced myself was probably impossible.

But I got it.

Next thing I knew, I was learning how to flip over a life raft and sailing through Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Mexico. Who would have thought the girl who started her career in corporate would be on a cruise ship a year later, entertaining thousands of

people?

Well, that is just the art of the pivot working itself out.

And sure, some people might look at this chapter and see it as a detour from a traditional corporate career. I don't. I am learning more than I ever expected to, both professionally and personally. I am learning how to think on my feet, adapt when plans change, and, perhaps most importantly, enjoy where I am instead of constantly worrying about where I am going next.

How many people can say they had to learn the blocking for a dance show in under 30 minutes because of a weather change, only to turn around and perform it?

Every day, I am faced with challenges like this. Plans change, things go wrong, and sometimes there are only minutes to figure out what to do next. And instead of panicking, I pivot.

Looking at my life over the past three years, I don't see failure. Maybe I didn't follow my plan, but that is what led me to the big, beautiful life I have now. I have had incredible opportunities, many of which never would have presented themselves if I had simply shut down when things didn't go according to plan. 

Maybe that is the real art of the pivot. Sometimes things not going according to plan aren't failures. Sometimes they are the very things that leads you somewhere you never knew you wanted to go and teaches you lessons you did not know you needed.

I still have goals and dreams, and I am sure there will be more pivots along the way. But I no longer see not knowing what comes next as something to be afraid of. 

And if Ross Geller taught me anything, sometimes you just have to yell “PIVOT!” and keep going.