Pivot

If there is one thing I’ve gotten better at lately, it’s being able to pivot. Pivot, and give myself some grace. (Which I’m still working on.)

Do you ever have those days where you think, okay, tomorrow I am going to eat healthy, workout, cook at home, and go to bed early. Basically you decide, tomorrow I am going to start living healthier, and maybe you plan it all out on paper. “I’m going to workout M, W, & F.” “Monday we are having salad with grilled chicken, Tuesday I’ll make tacos, etc.” “Monday is weightlifting day, Wednesday I’ll run a 5k, Friday spin class.”

You wake up that next day motivated and knock out your plan! But then Monday night the baby doesn’t sleep, and Tuesday isn’t as productive because you’re tired. Then Tuesday you stay up too late and are exhausted Wednesday, so you skip your workout. Thursday you go to make dinner and the chicken you had bought is bad, so you DoorDash. Then you head into the weekend and your plan goes out the window. You might start again next week, or it may take a few more weeks to get motivated again.

Does that sound familiar to anyone else?

All too often we think we have to have the perfect plan in place and the perfect conditions to execute it. But that is just not life! We can all still be healthy without perfect conditions, if we learn to do one thing: PIVOT!

Let me give you an example of when I had to be flexible and pivot from the “perfect plan” I had laid out…

A few weeks ago Jaxon woke up two nights in a row with growing pains in his legs. Both of those nights, and two others prior to that, Kollyns was up several times a night, not feeling well. Needless to say, after several nights in a row of interrupted sleep, the last thing I wanted to do was grocery shop, meal prep and run a 5k that day, which I had on my to-do list.

Naps and DoorDash sounded much better!

But this time, instead of completely straying from my plan, I pivoted. Instead of dragging a tired Kollyns, and me to the grocery store, I had groceries delivered. I didn’t get a lot of meal prep done, but I got fruits & veggies cleaned and cut up. That 5k run turned into a 30 minute stoller walk. (Sometimes when we are extremely tired, doing an intense workout can actually do more damage.)

And then, a really important part…I didn’t beat myself up over not executing what I had originally planned. Instead I gave myself grace and celebrated the healthy choices I did make, and the way I was able to still get some movement in. I think this is crucial! Living a healthy lifestyle is exactly that…a lifestyle. It’s long term. Missing your workout or eating a different meal than planned is okay!

My point in all of this is to remind you that things are never going to go perfectly, but you can still improvise, and make a few healthy choices (which add up), instead of taking your health goals and throwing them aside completely.

So next time your day or week, doesn’t go as planned:

1. Pivot
2. Give yourself grace.
3. Celebrate the healthy choices you did make!

katelynmarando