Finding a better way forward when life pushes back.
I started my morning on the porch, sipping a cup of coffee, watching the waves slowly break, and enjoying the company of my hubby.
By all accounts, it was a normal morning. We watched a pelican catch and eat its breakfast while great-tailed grackles flew all around us. But at one point, I noticed how much effort the grackles had to exert to fly against the wind.
It got me thinking about life and the “winds” we face – the challenges that make it harder to keep moving forward.
When the wind rises, do we maintain the same pace, even when it feels as though we’re taking one step forward and two or three steps back? Do we work harder to keep up, only to become weary and burned out? Or do we give up, convincing ourselves it wasn’t meant to be or isn’t worth the effort?
How Birds Face the Wind
Curious, I decided to learn more about how birds handle strong winds.
Spoiler alert: giving up isn’t one of their strategies.
Flying against the wind is tiring. Birds can continue at their usual effort, which slows their progress and makes the journey take longer, or they can flap their wings harder, which requires more energy. Either approach can leave them exhausted.
Instead of simply fighting harder, birds adjust.
They may find shelter and wait for the strongest winds to pass. They may fly lower, closer to the water or ground, where the landscape creates a calmer zone. Migrating birds may travel in a V-shaped formation, sharing the workload and conserving energy by rotating positions.
They don’t assume the destination is no longer worth reaching. They pause, change course, or accept help.
In other words, they pivot.
Is anyone else hearing Ross from Friends shouting, “Pivot!” while he, Rachel, and Chandler are wedged in a stairwell with a couch?
Learning to Pivot
If there is one guarantee in life, it is that we will face strong winds many times over. Honestly, life might not be nearly as meaningful if it were a smooth ride from beginning to end.
We don’t always get to choose when the wind appears, and there isn’t a magic button that can transport us past it. What we can choose is how we respond.
So often, we’re quick to quit because of the narrative we allow to take hold in our minds. We don’t give ourselves time to reflect on the situation and consider where we could pivot, become more flexible, or ask for help.
Maybe the wind is telling us to take shelter for a while. Perhaps something is falling into place behind the scenes, even if we can’t see it yet. Maybe we need to travel a little closer to the ground, change our approach, or let someone else help carry the load.
As a Taurus, I am incredibly stubborn. I know my friends and family will be in utter disbelief upon reading that shocking revelation.
Too often, I face challenges like a bull in a china shop. I don’t want to admit that my original plan might not be the best one. Sometimes, it’s as simple as refusing to ask for help. In the process, I become frustrated, create a royal – and entirely unnecessary – mess, and occasionally give up before I’ve had the chance to see the plan come to fruition.
Don’t Let the Wind Win
We rob ourselves of so much joy, growth, and experience when we allow the wind to convince us that moving forward is impossible.
My challenge to myself – and perhaps to you, too – is to see the bumps along the road not as signs that we should quit, but as opportunities to rest, learn, grow, adjust, and experience some of life’s most beautiful moments.
The next time the winds of life begin to blow, remember the birds. You don’t always have to push harder. You may simply need to pause, fly lower, change direction, or let others fly beside you.
The wind doesn’t always mean stop. Sometimes, it simply means pivot.
Read more: Pause, Pivot, Keep Going
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