Time to pivot?

During this COVID-19 pandemic, so many of us are asking, “What matters most to me?” “In what ways do I want to use my life’s energy?” “Who do I want to be?” Others of us are finished wondering about what and beginning to answer how. Something beyond ourselves may be calling to us. It might be called purpose and might be defined as “a sustained commitment to goals that are meaningful to the self and that also contribute in some way to the common good.” Is it time for your purpose to pivot?

“I want to work for the earth.” I had said it for several consecutive years on winter solstice with a group of friends gathered annually to turn our lives as the planet turned around its sun. That was 1994. At that time, I worked as an internal consultant with the largest for-profit corporation in the U.S.. I loved the people and the work. But something was missing.

I worked with a coach to make a change. First, I volunteered with a non-profit protecting the biodiversity of life on earth. The relationships and the reputation I established as a volunteer led to paid employment working for the earth. I moved my family and administered a small conservation non-profit along the Delaware Bay of New Jersey. We restored and sailed an oyster schooner as a classroom for ecology (photo above).

That role led to me serving as a director of administration with a national organization managing ecosystems which are home to endangered species. One day, inventoring marsh mallow on the wild and scenic Maurice River, I smiled to myself, I was working for the earth. The dream had entered me long before I was able to make it manifest.

Perhaps, you want to get started with your own pivot? If so, one great place to start, where I did, with a colleague and coach in 1994, is with Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want. Chapter 3 is great to help find what brings you life. The following chapters can help you step through what is needed to realize that dream.

Five years later, I pivoted again to a wider call – one which I hoped would inspire, encourage, and empower people to become servant-leaders in more ways than simply protecting the earth. One-with-one opportunities to help people explore their inner leadings, group sessions to uncover and support the best way forward, stories and practices to celebrate progress in attaining one’s vision became part of my professional and volunteer work.

Through LifeCalls coaching, I continue to help people discern their next most authentic steps, support them to take them, and celebrate the progress along the way. I work with people making such a pivot. Some are entertaining an encore career – work in the second half of life that combines continued income, greater personal meaning, and social impact. Others are spiritual changemakers – people following a call to co-create a better world, such as activists, not-for-profit workers, and lay and ordained clergy. These people all have in common contributing to the greater good.

In contributing to the greater good, they also bless themselves. Studies show it. “Pathways to Encore Purpose” is a national study conducted by Stanford University and Encore.org. It examined life goals, prosocial values and behaviors, perspectives on the progression of later life, and the prevalence of purpose in the post-midlife or encore years. From the 1200 survey responses and 102 one-hour interviews, the researchers gleaned several key findings.

1. The majority of older adults (age 50-92) exhibit high level of pro-social values and behaviors.
2. Nearly a third of adults in the U.S. (31%) exhibit purpose beyond the self.
3. The pursuit of purpose does not vary significantly across age, income, health status, or geography.
4. Purposeful living not only does not crowd out other pleasure and personal goals, it supports them.
5. The great majority of purposeful people (94%) experience “positivity” – a trait which refers to joy, hopefulness, optimism, and related emotions.
6. Freedom for people varies depending on whether they are purposeful – use their freedom for the benefit of all – or non-purposeful – freedom from burdensome responsibilities for themselves.

As a coach, I’ve found these characteristics among people discerning about sabbaticals and semi-retirement, pursuing encore careers, and taking up purposeful volunteer work. Their lives shine as they make progress in their pivots. A renewed energy breaths in, through, and from them. And that, alone, contributes to “positivity” in their lives and in a better world.

I hope this helps you (or people you love) to pivot, embrace your call, and live a life full of purpose in accord with your vision and values.  Take it from me and others who have, it’s well worth the investment!

Perhaps, you’re interested in the support of a coach or a peer group to become your new you. If so, book-a-call below and we can have a 30 minute conversation, free-of-charge, to explore possibilities.