When to Pivot: Dealing with Setbacks

Sometimes in life we all hit a brick wall. I do not mean a literal brick wall, although when I stepped on an IED during a night raid to kill or capture Al Qaeda in Iraq, it sure felt like I was hitting a brick wall. I remember the force of the explosion. The heat. The excruciating flash of being in life one moment and lingering out of it the next. My soldiers kept me awake the entire time I was being medevaced, somewhat awake, half dead, half alive. When I awoke fully, I wasn’t who I was before. I no longer had a leg. I was forced to pivot.

People pivot in life for different reasons. You had a goal to finish a marathon and then you get a bad case of shin splints. You ask that special someone out for a second date and get rejected, so you move on. You strike out for yourself and have trouble picking up new clients so you go back to your previous job. These are the type of pivots I say to avoid. These are the pivots that you make out of fear, not out of confidence.

Confidence only comes by doing. I was not confident when I woke up with one leg. I didn’t know if I’d ever walk again, and how my life would look going forward. I could have pivoted into despair and depression. I did deal with dark times – but I overcame them because I pushed through; and I was surrounded by people who cared about me and wanted to see me thrive. I went through a different kind of pivot. I often dreamed long before I had children what kind of father I would be; my children before they were even born gave me the strength to endure because I knew one day I would have to set an example of the man I needed to be for my children. What legacy will I leave?

There are pivots we make out of fear, but then there are pivots we make out of confidence in the future. This is the kind of pivot I made when I decided to learn how to walk again. This is the kind of pivot we make each and every day at IGNITE when we are looking for newer and better ways to serve our clients or solve impossible problems for our new clients. I believe pivoting can be done as a way of growing. Changing your direction to tweak something and grow is not at all bad.

Everyone has heard of Thomas Edison failing over 1,000 times at inventing the light bulb. What if he had quit after five, or ten? He pivoted each and every time from a position of confidence. He knew that that temporary rejection was leading him to sustained success.

In the gym if you start a new regimen and you find yourself sore, it’s easy to decide to take a few days off or that it’s too hard, but everyone who really focuses on fitness knows this is a temporary setback and a pivot now would only derail your progress. Push through – see things through (also being a meathead I must tell you to properly assess your caloric intake so your body can properly heal).

NBA players pivot all the time until they have an open shot. If they move without dribbling though, they are penalized. I think this is very applicable to life. It’s okay to pivot as long as you are doing it to move forward. It’s not okay to pivot if you aren’t moving forward, not passing the ball to your teammate, taking your shot, or dribbling to the next opportunity.

I still reflect back on learning to walk. I’ve had to do this twice in my adult life, thanks to a bomb the first time and a simple slip and fall the second time. The second time I had a metal rod and two nails inserted into my short side hip to keep my hip from breaking again.

It’s easy to give up. It’s hard to push forward. This is sometimes what separates success and failure in business and in life. Pivoting can be a good thing if you pivot into the direction of growth and away from the position of stagnation. Keep your head up, get your courage back, and pivot into the next shot. What legacy will you leave?