We’re encouraged to create ambitious goals and set positive intentions to honor the new week, the new year, or the new moon. Stress and burnout can prevent you from achieving ambitious goals and lead to a vicious cycle of burnout and stress.
Jill Carnahan, M.D., medical director, said, “An overloaded nervous system can cause both symptoms. These symptoms can occur when we take on too much, lack work-life balance, and are out of touch with the joys in life.
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Downward Spirals: How To Face Them
Dr. Carnahan says paying attention to your triggers is a critical first step to preventing a downward spiral. She suggests preparing ahead of time if you find that you go home and eat junk food and binge-watch television every time your boss reprimands you. Dr. Carnahan recommends these three steps:
- Take note of stressful moments when you engage in unhealthy behaviors to cope.
- Consider alternatives to your usual responses.
- Ensure that better options are more accessible, more convenient, and almost unavoidable next time so that unhealthy choices are less tempting.
Upward Spiral: How To Get Started
The upward spiral can help you break free of a downward spiral or achieve even more positivity and abundance. An upward spiral is when you feel like you’re moving forward, succeeding, and, at its best, thriving.
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Identify Your Goals
Getting clear on your needs and wants is the best first step to jumpstarting an upward spiral. The best way to achieve your goals is to make a workbook. It’s helpful to have a mood board or another visual. Then, review it every day so that these goals are part of your everyday life. It reinforces motivation.