🎵 “Sing it with me!” 🎵
You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out,
You put your right hand in,
And you shake it all about…

Sorry (not sorry) for the unexpected earworm, but I’ve just realised that our personal growth is akin to the hokey pokey. (Or hokey cokey if that’s your bent.) Aside from the obvious importance of the poke vs coke war, the song remains a melody based on nonsense and frivolity, oh and some unforgettable dance moves.

So how is this like our personal growth?
C’mon, you already know the steps.
Follow along and you’ll see what I mean. 

You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out.

How many times do we start a new regime and test it out?
Maybe it’s a new yoga class, or way of eating, a meditation practice, or an effort to catch ourselves when we are reacting rather than responding. Whatever it is, we try it on for size. We put our hand in; we pull it back out. In and out; testing for resonance and balance.

Is this right for me?
Am I seeing the results I expected?
Does it fit with my lifestyle?
What am I learning here?
Do I stop now or push through?

You put your right hand in and you shake it all about.

Ah, this is good!
Now we’ve got the hang of this new thing. It feels like home, like a deep bathtub to immerse ourselves in. We might tell everyone we know all about it, or keep it to ourselves and wait for them to ask about the change that’s come over us. Either way, whatever feels right is the way to do it, because now we’re committed. Our right hand is in, and we’re waving it all about!

You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around.

Have you noticed to do the ‘hokey pokey’ we’ve got to do a funky kind of wiggle?
That’s what settling into our new thing is like; a wiggle, a shuffle and an ahhhh.  

How will I accommodate this new thing?
Do I need to rearrange my schedule? My priorities?
Does it align with my lifestyle and relationships?

Once we’ve done our wiggling and settled in, life looks different and a bit more settled.
But here’s a reminder…  whether you’re nurturing a bud of beginning growth, or making an enormous leap to major change; look at what you’ve done!

You’ve turned yourself around!

And that’s what it’s all about.

Are you clapping?
You should be. Congratulate yourself!
You’ve gone from not being sure, and testing the waters, to owning it, and giving yourself some applause.

Does your process take two minutes or two years? No matter; it’s all forward motion into who you hope to be. Spend as much or as little time in each step as you need or like. Remember, there’s always the next body part to put in and shake it all about!

Healing and personal growth can be harrowing. Amid the turmoil, it’s so easy to forget that growth moments can be fun and nonsensical too.