Whirlpools on the way

and how to escape it 🗺️

We have two options with us every day. Control the day or let the day take control of us. And as the paradox of choice goes, even no choice is a choice so there's no escaping it. The power of repeated choices is insane because as I understand of it, these help us build habits and habits are the foundation of a lifestyle.

The saying goes "Only dead fish go with flow" . Sounds harsh? Maybe it doesn't even fit in a feel-good blog but I think it's important to put it here. As far as we can, we should try and align our actions with our bigger purpose (even when it's tough). I believe this is also a form of self-care where we push our limits consciously to reach our higher self.

But every time I try to practice what I just preached, I encounter two very specific problems -

1. Figuring out "the purpose"

2. Escaping the spiral of downfall

And this blog talks exclusively about the second obstacle of escaping a downward spiral.

What is the spiral of downfall?

Not to sound boring but I strongly believe that Newton's first law of motion applies to more than just physics. To the ones who forgot, the law states that "every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force."

Remember the last few days of summer vacation?

I used to be so sad that I've got to go to school again. Sure I had friends I was excited to meet but I was sooo used to the flow of doing absolutely nothing and just having fun that I really didn't feel like going back.

Here, I was used to doing nothing and it felt so hard to move out of that inertia of rest.

That's what happens when we tend to have only fun and do nothing productive for days and months together. Comfort becomes a necessity and the longer we stay in that zone, the stronger it pulls us down the whirlpool. One's potential then keeps crippling and so does his/her confidence.

The Escape Plan

What do I do to escape the spiral? I do these -

1. Identifying what drains me (and cutting it off, if necessary)

Usually it is social media (read Instagram). I might have scrolled a couple of kilometres on it some day. I've had to practice a few "uninstall and deactivate sessions" to keep a check on my activity and now I'm much better at controlling my urge to open the application 🤠

2. Breaking the unhealthy flow

Question the instructions given to us by our mind. One often feels like doing a particular thing because he/she did it for weeks that way. Like, going through the mobile first thing in the morning. Break any unhealthy flow in the routine 🛠️

3. Giving myself time to take it slow

It takes time to get out of a loop. Don't punish yourself for coming out of it slowly. Instead, pat your back for the small but steady progress ⌚

4. Picking up a skill (if I've got spare time)

"An empty mind is a devil's workshop." You got time? Google what all skills you can develop and pick up on one you find interesting. Knowledge never goes waste. Keep getting better, you'll feel good 📔

I'm sure you know I'm not an expert but these few points have helped me dodge the downward spiral multiple times and so I hope it might help you some day too. If you got any ideas, please know that I'm a sponge for such new hacks and send it to me too😂 It might be tough to escape it at times but a quick reminder that you're tougher and more stubborn than them obstacles🐯🧡

<3,

Rashmi