This is the second article in the series on How to break the vicious cycles in your life. The first one in the series:

” 5 signs to show you are stuck in a vicious cycle” tried to throw light upon the vicious cycles present in your life.

Now it is time to work on reversing them. But you can only start with one loop at a time. 

For most of us, life becomes a tangled mess of intersecting loops. To untangle these threads fully, we need to take up one loop at a time. 

The problem is – we do not know where to start?

Where to start  – Identify the biggest cause affecting your life? 

For each of us this biggest cause would be different, but for most, it would be one of the following

• Health 
• Relations
• Progress at Work
• Desire to make an impact
• Desire to learn 

A way to prioritise is to answer these two questions: 

Urgency: Which one of these is in the poorest state and will fall apart if not solved quickly

Control : Which one of these can I solve without much external support. 

It is a normal reaction to try and work on the matter which seems most urgent. However, in most cases, it is what you can control should be worked upon first. As regards the other, take necessary efforts to ensure it does not degrade further.

For example, you may be in a condition that your relationship with someone is falling apart and needs to be addressed quickly.

But you cannot since your partner is not responding. You cannot expect the other person to react as you want. 

Start with Yourself

Identify the second biggest reason. Is it your health ? Or finances?  In most cases, the second biggest reason has a close relation to the issues in the first one. 

Let’s say it was your financial mismanagement or instability.

Solve the second reason first, while making sure that you do not aggravate the relation further.

So start working on your financial instability – look for better jobs, second sources of income, saving and investing regularly.

While at the same time, ensure that you do not get angry at your partner and hence, maintain the relation at the point it is currently.

Quite frequently, when the other person notices his /her partner changing for good, he/she would respond positively, and the relation may also improve.

And in the worst case, if it does not, you still have solved one problem in your life at least.

Can’t figure out this where to start  – take this Master Key approach

If you are unable to figure out where you should start, start with your Health.

When I say health, I mean both physical and mental health. For most of us, it would be both. But some who are in good shape, may still need mental peace. 

In my experience, health is the most controllable of all the issues. Improving health is as simple as following a set blueprint that has enabled thousands of us to get back into good health. I was able to reduce my weight from 85 kgs to 67 kgs in a six months through a consistent schedule.

The three basic elements of health are – Nutrition, Workouts, Sleep. An advanced step is meditation.  If you can follow these consistently for 6 months to a year, you will see dramatic changes in yourself, and your habits.

Besides, it recreates the sense of control that we lose in the rut of life.

Take the action – start with a simple action plan

Your action is nothing but a very simple action repeated daily that can become a habit almost like brushing your teeth. 

You should not feel pain while doing it the same way you feel while brushing. Its a trained response of your mind to brush your teeth when you wake up. (Well – for most of us I believe) 

So if you want to reduce weight, start as simple as a 15 minute simple strength workout daily. (And cutting off any junk that you eat , of course) 

Repeat it for a month, and you will yourself feel like pushing your levels. 

Breaking the vicious cycles are closely associated with build up of good habits.

What will happen next is that you will create positive loops that will attract more and more positive habits and people towards you. This will happen automatically as if some law governs it. 

Soon, you will see yourself creating Virtuous Cycles in your life – health aiding happiness, aiding efficiency at work, aiding your progress and promotions, money, relations, and more happiness. 

I hope you liked this 2 part article series on dealing with vicious cycles in your life. Let me know in comments what you think.