Circles are round and join back together with every revolution. We all know this. A circle is like a habit that repeats the same every time. Think of that annoying buffer circle when your video isn’t loading. It just repeats and repeats and we never know when it will end.
As humans, we generally like repeatable habits, which might be as small as our routine in dental hygiene or as large as maintaining a particular workout routine. Most of the time we remain relatively emotionally neutral with these circles until something is out of place or the routine is disrupted by outside circumstances, like road construction that forces us to take a different route to an appointment or the electric toothbrush that just died. Even larger would be a housefire or a pink slip.
Take a few minutes and look around you. Just about everything around you is part of some habit, past or current. What do you see that you take for granted? The chair you’re sitting in, the socks you’re wearing, and even the books you might be reading.
Often, clients bring up issues that have come up before. They want something to change, or be the same as it used to be, so the same dialog tends to repeat as the last time. (New Year’s Resolutions come to mind) They tell me about the issue, share their thoughts and emotions, and why it’s coming up today. Then we start to form a plan to change either the approach or possibly the circumstances. Each time it comes up they tend to know a little more about what it is and what they want instead, but because of the circle habit, they don’t know what to do differently.
The only thing we truly have control over is our thoughts and emotions.
So my question would be “What haven’t you thought of?” This is meant to break the circle. “What could you do differently?’ is another question that may surface.
Take some time to think about your habits, those repeated circles. What would you change if you could?
Habits are good for so many things but when they start to create negative feelings, it’s time to take action.
You deserve happiness, no matter where you are on your life’s path. Consider making changes that bring more happiness and less stress so you can look around and KNOW you created a life you love living.
Vanderslice Coaching 