This rollercoaster ride we are on

If I was going to draw a line graph representing my growth and non growth periods in my life, I would like to think that it would start in the bottom corner and head straight across to the top corner. Realistically, my life is a little different to that, it’s more like one of those crazy rollercoaster rides that takes you up, down, in, out and twists you in strange ways.  

On my 'life' rollercoaster I love the feeling I get when it’s going up. The “up” time is when I’m doing everything possible to achieve a goal, from achieving my goal right down to turning down a piece of fruit and nut chocolate, my favourite. When it starts heading in the downward direction suddenly all my decisions start to change, I find myself going back for seconds, thirds and more of that tasty fruit and nut.  

When I think about this rollercoaster analogy I realise that I needed to find ways that helped me recognise my tipping point, the time when I’m starting to head in a downward direction. For example; I know that if I’m suddenly starting to drink coke more than once a week, this is a sign I’m not in my good growth place. Once I recognise the signs, even if they seem insignificant, I can spend time reassessing my goals and refocus myself back on track.   

No one is able to continually grow in every moment of their life, that’s not realistic. The downtime after a big growth period is important, but by having awareness of the signs, we are able to turn ourselves around before we drop too low.  

When you are in a growth period, become aware of the bad habits that you have dropped. Once you reach that particular growth peak and start to notice those bad habits creep back in, this is your tipping point.  This is when you may want to sit down and spend some time refocusing.  

Over time you become better and better at recognising when you are heading on a downward period.  Through recognition and refocus, you will learn more about what you need to do to be the best possible version of yourself. This way your rollercoaster will have a lot more ups than downs.