Beep, Beep, Beep…The smartwatch alarm vibrates a few times, and Roy checks it off through a moving gesture of his wrist. The dial’s warm white light glows in the room as it’s still dark at 5.00 am.

Roy sips a warm glass of water and tucks in his sportswear while the coffee is getting brewed.

At 5:30 a.m., he leaves for a 5K run and is happy to finish in 30 minutes today, smiling that he was quicker by a few minutes from the day before.

Back home, he showers and steps into his home office with a protein shake.

He admires the captivating view outside from the glass wall. The sun is about to rise; the dawn light is illuminating tiny dew particles spread over his manicured lawn and brightening up the room.

At 6:30 am, he sits on the yoga mat, closes his eyes for a brief meditation, and for 15 minutes tries to map his daily schedule.

At 6.45 am, the Sun is now up in the sky, Roy sits up at his desk to review his journal and picks up the most crucial task of the day — finishing this week’s newsletter release for his lifestyle blog, which will be read by a few million people worldwide.

He rejoices in the completion by 7:45 a.m. and schedules it to be sent out later in the day.

Done with that, he opens the door for the newspaper and draws in the day’s highlights. He is amazed that the stocks he bought during last month’s dip are rallying nicely.

At 8.30 a.m., he makes breakfast and gets ready to meet Tanya, Head of Design at a leading apparel brand, to commence the collaboration on a new clothing line dedicated to showcasing Roy’s creative journey.

Roy is equally excited to step into this new venture and is proud to commit 10% of the profits toward the better education of underprivileged children around the world.

What a start to the day! So much structured, productive, and purposeful. It’s easy to imagine how the rest of the day looks for him.

Whether you are someone aspiring to be Roy and looking to start your entrepreneurial journey, or doing 9–5 and want to step up the corporate ladder, we want to be as effective as Roy — make the most of our time and lead a meaningful life that makes an impact.

How Did Roy Do It? 

Of course — creativity, hard work, focus, perseverance, commitment… a lot of words can describe the attributes Roy has managed to acquire.

To name a few –

Clear — Roy knows precisely what he wants to achieve from the day.

Organised — He maintains a daily journal and sets priorities.

Disciplined — Seems that he is trying to follow the routine every day.

Purposeful — He has established himself as a Writer, is leading a purposeful life and trying to make an impact in the lives of others.

And what have you…

I can describe a few more of Roy’s traits, but we all know about these magic words, and following them into our habits can lead to a successful life. Don’t we?

But why isn’t everyone doing that? Is there something more to it? Let’s get to that.

We need to stop looking at Roy as an end product and try to see him from within.

Before reaching this point in his life, he would have attended school or college, learned a trade, and succeeded and failed in various walks of life; however, he dedicated himself to becoming a greater version of himself.

He identified his potential, created his life’s purpose based on that, and continued on the journey — perhaps several years ago — to reach where he is today. A journey of several thousand steps, several small decisions, and several small inputs that eventually led to the present outcome.

Long story short, Roy decided to change the status quo and pivot toward his greater self, i.e., becoming a Writer and helping others lead meaningful lives (by supporting children’s education).

This would have been possible by following a method, a blueprint, a process.

I call it The Pivot Process — a journey from being the current toward a greater version of yourself (The Infinite You) that makes an impact on your and others’ lives.

So, what are the steps, and is there a simple way to understand them?

Yes. Let me try to explain.

Illustration by the Author

Explaining the Steps of The Pivot Process

1. Understand Yourself

3. • Understand the current version of who you are before you start making any plans to pivot.
   • Understand your body and consciousness (more commonly referred to as mind, but I prefer to call it consciousness) — its various components, mechanisms and their interplay.
   • Understand various dimensions of life you live in — personal, professional, physical, emotional, social…
   • Understand your true nature and become aware of your uniqueness — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, fears, worries…without judgment or comparison with other individuals.

2. Improve Current State

3. • The body is the vehicle of consciousness — a healthy state of both would facilitate ideal conditions for you to flourish.
   • Create a holistic well-being regime focused on improving the quality of inputs for both body and consciousness — nutrition, exercise, sports, sleep, learning, recreation…

3. Create Sync

3. • Once you notice you are actively following your regime for some time, it is time for consolidation and sync between body and consciousness.
   • Reflect, review, and adjust.
   • Consider yourself as one system where your body and consciousness are perfectly aligned and ready to support you in the pivot journey.

4. Find Purpose Based on Potential

3. • You are now acting as one system, one organisation and aware of your capabilities, strengths and opportunities.
   • Identify a list of things where you’re good at, based on your skills, expertise or love doing, even if you don’t have prior experience.
   • Funnel this list to pick one idea that would be worthwhile pursuing, that defines you and can impact your life as well as others if you continue with it.
   • Pick this as the central theme of your existence.

5. Lead a Purposeful Life Every Day

3. • All planning part done; now comes the execution part, and perhaps most important of all.
   • Focus on living a daily and balanced life — one day at a time.
   • Create daily goals that contribute toward achieving your broader purpose — without looking into the past or ahead in the future.
   • Congratulate yourself on making this stride, stick to the plan no matter what, and see where it takes you.

I’ll cover tools and strategies for each of the above pivot steps in upcoming articles. So more to that later.

The First Step

So, you’ll see that the very first step to pivot toward a greater self is Understanding Yourself.

Unless you first understand who you truly are, you might end up looking at Roy’s outer success, his Instagram posts, travel stories, material possessions, etc. And there are so many like Roy in every domain of expertise.

Step one is to look within as a starting point. This means you have started on the pivot journey, and if you are persistent, everything else will follow.

He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.

— Lao Tzu

I, too, was trying to structure myself as Roy.

I began curious to find out the reason for my existence — why I’m here, what my potential is, and how I can best use it to help me and others lead meaningful lives.

All these questions led me to an exploratory journey to find answers — my Ikigai — my higher purpose.

After several years of self-reflection, planning, learning, and unlearning, I realised that leading a meaningful life begins with understanding yourself. I came to terms with myself, revisited my capabilities and potential, and crafted life’s purpose based on that.

I’ve decided to pivot, and through sharing my ideas as a Writer, I believe I can positively impact my own and others’ lives.

And, of course, this is about the journey, not the destination, and I welcome you all to join me on this journey and pivot today in your life toward your greater self.

Stay tuned for more thoughts like this!