When God Leads You To Pivot

I know what you’re thinking. It’s been a while friends. And you’d be right. It has.

I’ve been taking a break from blogging. And social media. And putting One Foot Coaching out in the public arena. Why, you may be asking? I must admit it started with overwhelm. The hours went up at my part-time job and my capacity to keep juggling all the balls in the air went down. And then, there was the pivot.

What’s a pivot, you ask? A little change in direction. A new path. A new perspective. A pivot can be a 5 degree turn or it can become a little more like a 340 degree turn. God was tapping on my shoulder. Would I embrace this new path? Would I alter my direction - even if it was slight? Would I embrace more of a new thing?

What was it?

If you’re anything like me, you’re dying to know. The pivot began a couple of years ago. I had written a group coaching curriculum called Purposeful Steps. In the curriculum, I had been researching personality assessments and came across this system called the Enneagram.

At the time, I was fascinated by it. The Enneagram is a personality typing system that differentiates 9 different types, or lenses through which people see the world. It measures why you do what you and your inner motivations. It provides levels of development for each type and a pathway to emotional and spiritual growth.

The only problem? I used it without knowing a whole lot about it. I gave each of our community a primer on the Enneagram and sent them off to narrow down their type. They all came back with more questions than answers. Questions I couldn’t answer.

My Enneagram Journey

After that, I had a decision to make. The Enneagram was a little more complicated than I thought. Would I continue to lean in and seek to use it here at One Foot Coaching? Or would I give up and replace it with something simpler?

I choose to stick with it because I believed it was a powerful tool to coach and train clients to experience authentic life change and discover how God wired them to make a lasting impact. So I studied books. Took an online course. And then, dove into a week-long intensive Enneagram coaching certification in San Francisco in January.

My trainer for the course told us on the first day, “You don’t find the Enneagram. The Enneagram finds you.” That has been my journey so far. It found me and the more I leaned in the more I learned and was able to share with others. I learned about myself and have been encouraged to help my pastor and other leaders at my church find their Enneagram type and use if for personal and spiritual growth. I believe it can help you too!

And so, I began to pivot. I began to pivot to talk about it with my existing clients. I began holding workshops on the Enneagram. And I began coaching and consulting with my own church. Which leads me to some changes around here?

What’s changing?

So here’s what’s changing. Well, for starters, this website. The blog may look pretty similar, but I’ve shifted more of my content to help clients discover who they are, what’s holding them back, and how to make a lasting impact. I’ll also be working with more church leaders and teams now to equip leaders to build emotionally healthy cultures on teams. And lastly, you’ll probably see a few more blogs on the Enneagram, the different types, and how to use is as a tool for spiritual growth.

What’s not changing?

For one, what I stand for. I stand for faith and experiencing purpose in the everyday rhythms of our lives. One Foot is still about encouraging you, like Peter, to get out of the boat by faith and walk on water when Jesus calls. We’ll still be doing group coaching workshops for women and faith coaching Bible studies.

Being Brave with Your Pivot

Here’s the thing I’ve learned in the process. To be honest, it’s taken me a while to move here fully. Mostly because for all my talk about being brave and stepping that foot out of the boat - changing in the middle takes courage. It’s discovering what we need to say good-bye to and what new things God is asking us to say hello to. It’s starting over in putting yourself out there and learning a new way.

And so I hesitated. And played it safe. And I sat a little more comfortably with the way things have been instead of taking a chance on the way things could be. I was needing to trust that God’s option is better than any I could dream up. And it’s choosing to start again which feels like work but ends up like freedom.

Which brings me to you? A pivot isn’t just for those of us who own our own business. A pivot can include a job change. Selling your home. A change in your eating habits or focusing on your health. Cultivating a new friendship. Or even a change in churches.

What are you doing with the pivot God is leading you toward? Your pivot may sneak up on you or something you’ve been sitting on for a while. It’s a challenge to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. It’s choosing to take a chance that God will catch you no matter what. It’s choosing to step out of that boat and see if maybe you, like Pater, can walk on water.

Hey friend! I’d love to hear about the pivots God is leading you toward. And if you have questions about my One Foot Coaching pivot and want to learn more about the Enneagram, I’d love to chat. Simply schedule a free connect call here and we’ll get it on the calendar.