Catching Up With CAT: Practicing Pivoting

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Catching up with CAT. This is Noah. This past week was such a great reminder for me that each program is meant to fit the participant and not the participant to the program. That means that if you show up expecting to run a quiet mindfulness day and  you find out the kids have been testing all day and don't have the capacity to sit still any longer it's time to pivot and use the power of play and a soccer ball to keep their attention while meeting their needs. Having to pivot and think on your feet, while stressful, is one of my favorite things about this job. I think for me it can be hard sometimes to have this plan coming in that you have put thought into and are proud to enact and for whatever reason it is just not going to work or fit that day, and you must pivot. The day can still be meaningful and powerful it's just about the framing of the game of catch (kick) or whatever you are doing and taking that step back and making the choice towards the option that will both keep people safe and give them the space to build themselves up.   

This showed up again on Saturday, plans didn't go as expected and we had much less time and people then we had planned for and involved using most of the backup plans I had built into the day, but it resulted in positive conversations about what mindfulness means and how it should fit you. That it can be going for a run or playing catch, but it can also be quietly hiking close to the water to see/hear the frogs or turtles and sitting in the awe of the world that we get to live in or even falling asleep to a meditation video. Mindfulness is meant for the betterment of yourself, so listen to yourself and your needs. I have been better at taking my own advice recently and am hoping that it is a trend that sticks with me in the future. 

-Noah