Pivoting

This image makes me think of pivoting (although my daughter vehemently disagrees as she says she was just running straight, but it’s my post, so I get to decide). She looks like she is possibly changing direction and while she is balanced, she looks to me like she could easily fall off balance too.

Pivoting is a skill; one which is getting tons of practice currently. It seems like we are constantly pivoting. In the middle of March, we did an about face as suddenly the world seemed to shut down. We lived through that, and in Alberta, we’ve been slowly reopening. Since then, it seems like things are constantly changing.

We saw traditional graduation ceremonies and banquets being cancelled and our grade twelves being celebrated in new and novel ways: drive by, virtual, and small-scale ceremonies. We switched our vacation plans and we mourned loss and socialized with friends differently.

In many ways, we’ve adjusted so well. We’ve spun on a dime and made changes to how kids learn, how we celebrate, how we socialize, how we work and how we play sports. Those changes, however, have not come without cost. Constant change is emotionally and mentally draining.

In our “normal” lives, we need to change course at times, but it seems that part of COVID fatigue is the constant nature of change. I feel like I am always making decisions, and then changing or revising them, due to new information. I know that organizations and businesses are facing this same challenge.

Individuals, families and organizations have been constantly adapting and facing new directions, and it’s exhausting. While as a leader, having the ability to be nimble and to react and change is an important skill, it seems like a skill that we are constantly using. It’s hard to plan and predict because it seems like when we do, it just changes anyway. It’s easy to say: “I give up.”

I was talking with a friend today and the topic of decision fatigue came up. We both agreed that since everything around us is regularly changing, then we need to revise our decisions constantly too, and it’s draining. I feel so tired. COVID is challenging to put it mildly, and it doesn’t take much to force us to pivot and change. Even something as simple as a minor sore throat can now wreak havoc with plans.

I have a lot of experience making changes and adapting to evolving situations, but lately, it seems like I get no rest or break to rebuild my strength and resilience. Each day brings complications and a need to reassess. I can’t predict when, and what is going to happen, and how I will need to adapt. Predicting what might happen has become impossible.

It is easy to become overwhelmed, but we need to muster the strength to continue doing it (mostly because it’s not likely to change for awhile). Sometimes amazing things come out of these pivots, and it is extremely easy to lose these positives in a sea of overwhelming change. So think back to how you’ve had to adapt recently and celebrate all the successes you’ve had!