Cycles

Life is made up of a series of cycles. Wellness, as it is part of life, can also be a series of cycles. You’ve heard the term “vicious cycle”, as in “My weight continues to increase as the vicious cycle continues”. We will continue to use weight as an example as we have all been in the following situation:

I didn’t go exercise, so I felt tired today. I was tired, so I had less self-control and ate too much at lunch. Work was stressful, so I ate a candy bar to help me feel better. I actually felt more sluggish after the candy bar and started to regret eating it. Now that I am feeling down on myself because of my eating today, it is hard for me to focus on work. The work I am doing is taking me longer and I am making mistakes because I am struggling to focus. When the day is finally over, I didn’t get as much done as I wanted to, my mood is down and my self-esteem is lower than it was yesterday. When the alarm goes off in the morning, I think to myself: “I am too tired to get up and go like I want to”, and…the cycle continues.

This is the downward spiral. Action leads to feelings which lead to reaction, but everything is based on the negative. We are upset because we aren’t getting it done and now we aren’t getting done because we are upset. Unfortunately for most of us, the spiral has been downward for a long time. That does make it a challenge to reverse, but it is possible and it doesn’t have to be as difficult as you think.

That’s right, just as the cycle can take you on a downward spiral, it can take you on an upward spiral as well. Think about it. Just the concept of a cycle makes it easier to look at. We can picture the spiral moving in a gradual downward direction as our actions (or lack of action) lead to continually less desirable results. The key word here is gradual. You have been gradually moving downward. Just as the cycle can gradually move downward, it can also move gradually upward.

The key is to think about the fact that you got here through that gradual process. Whatever the issue, weight, stress or smoking, you have developed habits over time and the result followed over that same period of time. Barring very rare circumstances, things do not change overnight. Nothing changes (good or bad) in the blink of an eye. We only see change in the cycles. Either we are going down or coming up.

Now that we can look at the gradual movement of the cycle, we can decide which way we want our spiral to go. You can continue the actions that have brought things down, or you can change and bring things back up. It is entirely up to you.

Granted, you may need support to get started and some more along the way, but once the decision is made, it can be done. We help our coaching clients to realize that the cycle can not only be stopped, but it can be reversed. Often that is the biggest step in making changes: realizing that it can be done.

Ideas for follow up:
We would like to hear about your success stories in reversing your cycle. What did you do to turn the downward spiral around and get it moving upward?

Having trouble?

Get ideas and examples from others that have been there by posting a question under comments or emailing the ‘coach’ inbox.

You can learn how to change the direction of your cycle. You can work with your own health coach and see the positive results just as hundreds of others have already.