As a society, we reward grit, that ability to persevere. We tell ourselves, “One more minute/hour/day, and then we’ll get what we want.”
I also value perseverance. That grit helps me not just for my walking and workouts, but for my writing and other product development goals. Perseverance is how I accomplish “everything” I want.
Over the years, I’ve learned that I need to pivot every so often, instead of persevere. And I’m not always good at recognizing when I should pivot. Sometimes, circumstances need to beat me over the head with a virtual two-by-four for me to realize it’s time to pivot.
Here’s an example. I count my words in four major categories, to see where I’m writing more or less. (I realize that not all writers count words, but I do.) Those word counts help me decide where I’m spending my writing time. However, due to many circumstances beyond my control, I wrote about a quarter fewer words in 2023 than I did in 2022 or 2021.
That’s my reality. I’m not going to magically “make up” the word counts. That’s just like making up time in a project. I’ve never seen that work.
Instead, I decided to pivot this year.
Recognize When It’s Time to Pivot
We all need data to know if it’s time to pivot. My spreadsheets offer me a lot of valuable data.
But the pivot vs. persevere question means I need more and different data. Word count alone is not sufficient. That’s why I use an ORID debrief. (I wrote about those questions in How Do You React When a Learning Experience Clarifies How Far You Still Have To Go?)
- Objective data: What did I notice about my writing, both the act of writing and when I wrote? (I separated these questions when I answered them.)
- Reflective data: What was easy, difficult, challenging, joyful? All those emotion words.
- Insight/Interpretive data: What insights have I gained from this other data? How many options can I generate?
- Decision: What will I do next?
I had a big realization: I did not have to do all the homework for every writing class when I worked through the class. I had to change my perfection rules about my achievements as a student to succeed as a writer.
Pivoting Might Require a Rule Change
In my classes at school, I always did all the homework. But I’m not in school anymore. I have other responsibilities and that rule was making trouble for me. Blow me over with a feather.
Then I realized I could easily change this perfection rule: Instead of I must do all the homework, I can do the homework when I have the time. In addition, if there’s a short story opportunity, I can write that short story in time to send it in. And, I can choose not to write it, either ever, or this week when I am stressed.
I can still persevere—and I need to choose where I persevere.
I found those ideas quite freeing. And as a byproduct, I’m writing more of what I want to write. Which is a blast.
Perseverance works for me almost all the time. And when I don’t feel as if I have any more grit, it’s time to consider a pivot.
That’s the question this week: When is it time to pivot instead of persevere to accomplish what you want?