The Downward Spiral

The downward spiral is something I know very well. I've been through it with OCD, depression, and weight loss.

Basically, what happens is, you're at a high. Then you start doing something you're not supposed to be doing ("not supposed to be" as in not wanting to do in order to obtain your goals). Then you keep doing the thing you're not supposed to be doing because, you've already done it today.

Take this example from me, from today.

I wake up. Rather sore, it's new years day, and there's good "comfort food" cookin' in the kitchen. I look at my phone, and it's 11 A.M.

I think to myself, "man, 11 A.M. is so late in the day. I might as well just take today as a relaxation day."

THAT RIGHT THERE is where I should have stopped and REMINDED myself of my goals. But I didn't. And this happens far too often.

So... what happens next? I get up, instantly feel the pain from working out yesterday, so I go in to the living room and sit on the couch so I can start waking up. I sit... and I sit... and I sit... I look up, and it's 12 P.M.

I think to myself, "if I'm not going to do much of anything today, I might as well eat healthy."

I think that, but just because of the beginning of my day and the limiting beliefs I placed on myself for that day, I ended up going in a downward spiral of everything I want to get done.

It's not JUST about today. It's about the ENDGAME. If you start your day negative, it's more than likely it's going to end negative. If it's positive, it'll more than likely end positive. At least this is my observation from my own experiences.

Luckily, I have noticed my downward spiral "peak", the point where I can't take it anymore, and I try to resolve my issue. And I did just that when I decided to make this blog post. As you can see on my blog, my food choices today have been much less than acceptable. But I have to remind myself, that there's always NOW. The choices I've made today can be fixed from moment to moment. I can't beat myself up over something like this.

So, how do you stop your downward spiral? Stop it in it's track as soon as your day starts. Don't even let it happen. You have the ability and mental capacity to do it, trust me.

If you do happen to fall down a spiral (no matter how long it lasts), self forgiveness and self awareness will bring you to where you need to be, which is right now.


Picture from http://www.dreamstime.com