How to Stop Spiralling
(and train your inner Spaniel)
WRITTEN BY: VICKI LOVEGROVE, CREATIVE CONFIDENCE COACH
Have you ever had days where you can't seem to do anything? Dipping in and out of social media, reducing your already limited attention span to a nanosecond, and that is when you can fall into a spiral.
Once in the spiral, you can float there and give in to the spinning thoughts or find a way out. The reason we fall into the spiral? We haven't trained our inner spaniel. What?! Are you mad?–quite possibly!
Our unconscious mind (UM) causes the spiral, the part of your brain that is there to save your life and do whatever it can to help you. I like to think of the UM like a spaniel; bear with me.
When you have a working dog, like a spaniel, they live to please you. You can be on your hands and knees trying to fix something, and when you turn around, you are surrounded by half-eaten bones and gently sucked teddies; the little monster responsible will be standing there, head tilted, asking, "Does any of this help? What do you need?"; this is how your UM works when it doesn't have any direction.
We have to keep the UM updated and tell it what we are looking for / trying to achieve; this is why having an idea of your goals is fundamental, not just to your working life but to your life as a whole. A mind without direction spins and throws you confusing things to think about, just in case that helps. It's exhausting. Hello, burnout.
So what can you do?
Set yourself a goal: it doesn't have to be massive; it can be small; in fact, most large goals are just a series of small ones. When you complete the goal, the critical thing to do is to get going on the next one.
Reward yourself: remember to thank yourself and your UM for the work it has done to be successful in this goal. That acknowledgement is what it is looking for.
Who are goals for?
YOU. No one else. You might do something so you can give to someone else, that is great, but it shouldn't be the sole purpose unless you need it for yourself too it will be much harder to achieve. So start to think about how you can benefit from the goal - it might be the lovely feeling you will get by helping others, the new friendships to be gained, or simply a relaxing break; the UM is there to help YOU.
Recap
Set yourself small, achievable goals.
Reward yourself.
Be kind to yourself.
And Give that UM Spaniel a treat.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vicki Lovegrove is an accomplished graphic designer with 30+ years experience - 22 of those with her own business, and more recently she retrained as a coach, as she’s passionate about supporting creative people in business to overcome barriers, build confidence, and achieve their full potential. She’s a calming presence with a dazzling smile, always happy to offer advice & encouragement to fellow members. You can work with Vicki for design or coaching. Follow the links below:
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