I’m dancin' on my own. I make the moves up as I go.

The Retune Blog - 7th July 2023

Photo by Tadeusz Lakota on Unsplash

Don’t you love it when your dog has been out in the rain. You try to dry them with a towel but all they really want to do is to shake off the wet. There is something so natural and instinctive about their response, and, well I guess it works. They’re not concerned about approval or having a master plan, but are just there trying to make a change to what they are experiencing. This idea of a dog shaking it off reminds me of a lyric from Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off:

I’m dancin' on my own. I make the moves up as I go. And that's what they don't know.

A bit like the dog experiencing the discomfort of being wet and cold and making their own response, the song is one which shows a positive response to ongoing criticism and hurtfulness. It’s empowerment at its most joyful. Back to the lyrics:

And the haters gonna hate … Just think, while you've been gettin' down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world, you could've been gettin' down to this sick beat.

The song reminds us that life is messy and not fair, but we still have control of our response. How do we choose to respond to difficulty? There’s nothing wrong with feeling sad, upset, or low, these are natural and healthy responses to situations. And in some circumstances, these feelings and experiences might be more enduring, or even an indication of a more clinical cause. Indeed, it’s only since I started antidepressants ten years ago that my mind started to work in a way which allowed me to change perspective with the help of counselling. Yet, once we’ve been there, what can be better than sticking two fingers up and embracing joy as a means of liberation. Dance like you mean it! Shake it off!

This idea of liberation, not expecting the world to be fair, but empowering ourselves to do something about our response to it is what is at the heart of our free Life Garage resources and course. So, this week why not shake off the chains that are holding you back and perhaps pick up a few new life tools for free at our Life Garage?