The Hula Hoop Rule: What You Can Control During Change (625 words)

In every story worth telling, we meet the hero in their “Ordinary World.” They know the landscape. They understand the rules. Then something disrupts that world. A call to adventure arrives, and everything shifts.

When change hits at work, we are living our own version of that journey. At first, the response feels predictable: I don’t like this. I wasn’t ready. Why now? We start imagining worst-case scenarios. We speculate about decisions being made in rooms we’re not in. We worry about conversations we haven’t heard and timelines we cannot influence. Before we’ve taken a single step forward, we are exhausted.

That’s when I reach for a hula hoop. I mean this literally. I step inside that 36-inch plastic circle and remind myself that everything I can control fits inside it. No need to worry about what might be discussed in the boardroom tomorrow. No reason to predict changes to spreadsheets or organizational charts. No sense burning energy on rumors. Just focus on what’s inside the hoop.

When I bring a hula hoop on stage, people laugh. But they also understand immediately. The visual works. You can see and feel the boundary. And in that moment, something shifts. Inside the hula hoop is your agency. Outside the hula hoop is everything else.

• Your effort
• Your preparation
• Your behavior
• Your tone
• Your willingness to learn
• Your follow-through

Most of us spend enormous energy trying to manage what is outside the circle. And every ounce of that energy is wasted. Change often feels overwhelming because we are trying to solve problems that do not belong to us. We attempt to predict leadership decisions. We replay conversations that haven’t happened. We mentally rehearse outcomes that may never occur.

Meanwhile, the only space we truly influence goes unattended.

The Hula Hoop Rule is simple: If it’s inside the circle, act. If it’s outside the circle, release it.

This is not about ignoring reality. It is about reclaiming responsibility for the part that is yours.

Imagine drawing a circle on a piece of paper. Write down everything that’s concerning you. Then sort it.

You may notice something uncomfortable: most of what’s consuming your mental bandwidth is probably outside the circle.

But you can control how you show up.

This is where the hero’s journey becomes practical. The “Call to Adventure” is not optional. Change is happening. But how you cross the threshold—that part is within your hula hoop.

In stories, the hero doesn’t control the dragon. They control their preparation. They don’t control the storm. They control their navigation.

The same is true for us.

When we narrow our focus to what is inside the circle, two things happen. First, anxiety decreases. We are no longer trying to carry the weight of the entire organization on our shoulders. Second, momentum increases. Action replaces rumination.

Pick one thing inside your circle. And do it.

The platform behind you may be gone. The next swing may feel uncertain. But hanging midair, worrying about the wind, will not move you forward.

The Hula Hoop Rule reminds us that while we cannot control the entire adventure, we can always control our next step.

And that is enough to begin.

Reprinted with permission.