Building Forward Momentum in Your Life

We all struggle & have many moments of challenge, obstacles, speed bumps & circumstances that can cause us to be disheartened about our lives & build a downward spiral of deteriorating mental health.

I’ve been there, you’ve been there, no one is exempt.

A common question I get from my clients & followers is:

“How do I prevent the negative downward spiral & climb out of the ditch of despair when I am overwhelmed with negative thoughts?”

The Simple Answer is: Build Forward Momentum.

Let me explain…

When you are the “ditch of despair” whether that ditch is the ditch of depression, ditch of anxiety, ditch of grief, ditch of self-hatred, ditch of body dysmorphia, etc. you got to the ditch due to a series of wrong turns and once enough momentum was built, you landed there.

The wrong turns = enough negative thoughts to build momentum, create more like-minded thoughts & the spiral begins

You can see this as when you’re driving in an ice storm & you make a turn, but overcompensate by turning the steering wheel a little too much to the left or right…

What happens next?

To compensate, you go *LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT* to straighten out and soon enough you’re in the ditch.

So how do we avoid going into the ditch?

Well instead of our innate impulse which is to fight the negative thoughts, resist them further, OR try and speak positive thoughts that you don’t believe (over compensation)… slowly build a forward momentum of positivity.

Start general with things such as: I am grateful I am alive right now. I am grateful I woke up this morning. I am grateful I have food in my fridge. I am grateful for the hot *or cold* shower this morning. Etc.

Begin to build a forward momentum of GENERAL gratitude, before attempting to go into innately positive thoughts.

The reason we must start general, is due to the polarized charge we have towards having started our negative downward spiral… when a car is spinning out, overcompensating too much only causes further issues and challenges for us.

When we can not try & force ourselves to look at the positive, but build a positive forward momentum, we not only disrupt the backwards momentum of our negative spiral, but we also begin to propel ourselves in the direction of our desired state: positivity, happiness & appreciation.

So don’t try to be EXTREMELY positive about the situation you’re currently in when you’re in a deep state of depression/anxiety/stress… instead, start small… start general & build that momentum.

It WILL take work.

It WILL be challenging at first.

But the point is, you start general because you have no resistance to the generalities like you have a resistance to the positive thoughts when you’re in a state of negativity.

Going further into resistance DOES NOT help us to overcome the negative spiral… in fact it only further hinders us as we try & climb out of the ditch.

When we take one step at a time, and we focus primarily on creating a momentum of general thoughts towards our surroundings/life we reorient our current obsessive attention on the things/thoughts/feelings we don’t want… (a negative spiral) and we “snap” ourselves out of the hypnotic daze that prevents us from finding well-being.

This is primarily advice for the folks who face feelings of depression, anxiety, stress, etc. and like to say “positive thinking doesn’t work.”

The truth is, positive thinking ABSOLUTELY works… BUT only when you’re not in resistance to the positive thoughts you are thinking.

If you are in resistance to the positive thoughts, then thinking positively only makes you feel worse.

So to summarize:

Start general & build that momentum step-by-step, you will inevitably snap out of the hypnotic trance of negativity and propel yourself into a forward momentum of positive thinking, eliminating yourself from the depths of the ditch.

If you found this article informative & helpful, please feel free to share it & follow me here as I begin my journey on Medium!

Get in contact with me and/or to learn more about how you can begin breaking free from the insecurities, stresses & emotional, follow me on Instagram, Twitter & YouTube @IAMWILLNICHOLLS

And also check out my Website