There is a lot written about Prochaska and DiClemente’s cycle of change, to explain why some people aren’t ready to drop an unhealthy habit, or to take on a healthy change in their lives. Pre-contemplation, contemplation and preparation are the often drawn-out periods which eventually lead to, but also delay, the action and maintenance phases. The relapse phase of the cycle looms pessimistically and undermines self confidence to make lasting progress.
Rilke challenges us to change our perspective on this in:
Go to the limits of your longing
Let everything happen to you
Beauty and Terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final
We can encourage ourselves to become aware of the corkscrew of change, the forwards spiral which follows a natural rhythm across the contours of everyday life. This leads us from the calm flow of peak experience through the inevitable periods of turbulent loss, decay and adversity, into time for recovery and learning, before renewed creativity and intention propel us back to resonant flowing living.
To maintain forwards momentum we have to re-frame obstacles as opportunities to learn. This sounds glib and over-simplistic, but it underpins the understanding of this forwards spiral. The downhill part may instinctively feel like permanent descent or irredeemable loss, and this pessimism then can dominate your psychology. But connecting the descent with the recovery plateau and the ascent beyond as an integrated part of the whole, changes your outlook and reshapes your approach. It lets the spiral move forwards more naturally, unrestrained by the stagnation of negativity or the heaviness of depression.
Finding the rhythm of this corkscrew sets expectations and creates inner preparations to apply positive strategies at each stage. It oils the flow around the spiral and keeps your energy resonant with your surroundings.
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