The Shift Begins When the Silence Breaks
What if the secret to doing the thing you’ve been trying to do quietly, is letting it be witnessed by another?
Welcome to The Pivot. This is a hybrid space, part journal, part newsletter — where I share what I'm living, learning and questions that I need to ask myself to keep moving forward. It's for those who are feeling the call to make a move, to shift. It's a reminder that we don't have to jump off a cliff — just simply turn our bodies just the tiniest bit and pivot. And yet those small movements can be the hardest ones to make.
So I figure I would share my journey so we can do it together. And, if I didn’t mention it before, I'm really glad you're here.
Good morning.
You know what? If I’m honest, I regret starting a newsletter called “The Pivot” because making shifts in our lives is absolutely frightening. Maybe I should have named it “Stay Where You Are Even if You Hate It, Because At Least It’s Safer.” What do you think?
In this period of my life, I feel like I’m straddling this big ditch, while I try to figure out if I should stay where I am or go to the other side. After deliberating for way too long, your girl falls into the hole and now there are no options. “Well, here I am stuck in this ditch, so I guess I’ll finally do something”, I tell myself as I try to figure out how to climb out.
So why is it so hard to start moving? I feel the inner voice always starts as a gentle nudge or a whisper. Nice and calm. Then we don’t listen —staying ten toes down in a place that no longer fits us— and get thrown into a ditch. Look at life.
My modus operandi when I feel like it’s time for a change is to withdraw from the external, try to remember who I am, try to figure out who I want to be and then somehow convince myself that the place that I'm turning towards is actually going to be a lot better than where I am right now.
I got tired just writing all of that. No wonder I end up doing none of it.
So here’s the thing. I’m starting to believe, stay with me, that we might need … other people. I think we stay where we are for much longer that we need to because we keep our dreams for change to ourselves. However, this past week has me wondering if we truly benefit by keeping everything so close to the chest.
So why would an eldest daughter of immigrant parents, perfectionist, introvert like me, who absolutely hates having to share things or ask for help from others come to this realization?