“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
~ Albert Camus
Seize the day.
Make every moment count.
These are wisdom sayings we hear all the time. They are sound too. However, in our hurried world, many of us are thinking only of the short-term rather than long-term gains and losses in life.
We think linearly rather that cyclically. And it’s had big consequences on our sense of well-being.
How has thinking linearly not served us?
The shortcomings of linear thinking
One of the biggest drawbacks of linear thinking is the assumption that more is always good and less is always bad. We may not say this, but the way we approach life societally give us away. We know that life doesn’t work this way. We even have sayings like “What goes up must come down” to crystallize the truth of cycles. But we just can’t help ourselves.
Probably the most glaring example of how we defy reality is in the stock market. We all know about boom and bust cycles and we’ve all been through them. However, when the good times are rolling, we still act as if the good times will go on forever. And when the bad times finally arrive, we act as if the world is going to end.
This reality can be extended to other areas in our lives. When relationships go south, we often bail just before an opportunity for growth presents itself. If you happen to be doing well financially, you may neglect to budget, save, and plan for a time when that money may stop flowing in.
Linear thinking is deceptive because it often promises a pot of gold at the end of a list of step-by-step instructions for getting there. But really, it’s a painful trap when we realize that it does not mirror reality.
How cyclical thinking can help you live better
You may be picturing a cyclical image as a circle with arrows pointing in one direction, going round and round in an endless and meaningless loop.
Think instead of a spiral which represents the cyclical image moving through space and time. Every situation, no matter how familiar, finds you in a different place than the last time you were there. For starters, you’re older and have more life experience under your belt.
For example, having a second child is a different experience from the first. Or how about when you first encountered a problem at work that you were able to apply to similar problems going forward?
Cyclical thinking does not trap us in an endless loop. It represents the truth of how life and nature flows. And if you use it well, cyclical thinking can help improve your well-being.
Here’s how:
1. It helps you get through the hard times
Cyclical thinking is especially helpful when you’re going through a difficult season. While you’re in the middle of it, the winters of our lives can feel harsh, even life-threatening.
But if we allow ourselves to think back to a time where we struggled in a similar way, it can often be a source of encouragement. Many people get through difficult periods and emerge stronger than before.
Going through a difficult season? Remember that you’ve likely been there before. Draw on the resources and tools you gained last time around to help you through this time.
2. You’ll be better prepared for opportunities
There’s a quote attributed to scientist Louis Pasteur which says: “Fortune favors the prepared mind.”
This is cyclical thinking at its best. How may opportunities have you missed because you weren’t prepared for the harvest season? Think if all the “overnight” successes in film, music, art, sports, and academia who slaved away in obscurity for years before the lucky breaks came alone.
They understood the power of seasons. They understood that, in order to benefit from the good times, they needed to be prepared for it.
3. You’ll learn to let go
When we learn to trust the seasons of life, we learn to let go of our expectations of how life’s supposed to be.
If you live in a climate with four seasons, you may complain about winter, but you don’t sit around in the cold brooding about your lot in life while you freeze to death. You make adjustments. You wear warm clothing. You put on snow tires. You even play various winter sports and build snowmen.
Life is the same way. When we find ourselves in less than ideal seasons of life, we can learn to adapt. And the way we do this is by letting go our expectations.
Letting go your expectations and accepting life as it unfolds before you is probably the single greatest path to peace.
Make every season count
Seize the season.
Make every season count.
I know, doesn’t have the same ring to it. But if you want to start making progress in places in your life where you feel stuck, you may need to zoom out from the day-to-day.
Whether you’re in a season of life you enjoy or don’t enjoy, live the season you find yourself in fully. And you’ll find unexpected joy by just being present to the natural rhythm of life.
Thank you so much for bringing up this topic and giving us examples.
We certainly miss out when fixated on a linear world – almost like the flat earth people – instead of seeing the complexity in the whole.
My token interpretation is that, linear is fine when looking for the detail, whereas cyclical incorporates the whole context consisting of the network of linears. Hope that makes sense.
Thanks, Cylon. Always look forward to your lessons.
It makes perfect sense! Love the comparison to the flat earth view. Thank you 🙂
Cylon, I thought something was wrong. I misread the title as “How Cynical Thinking Can Help You Live Better!”
Another excellent article with doable suggestions/guidance. Thank you! ♥
Haha…That’s good! That would make for an interesting post! Happy that you got valuable takeaways from it 🙂
Nice! It’s great advice. I added some visualization for myself… If I move forward in a linear way, I can’t see where I’ve been and where to “step” next. Tunnel visioned and kind of blind folded, causing me to proceed with great trepidation and uncertainty. If I look at life in a cyclical way, I can see where I’ve been, and I have more of a 360 degree perspective, that makes it easier to move forward. But, I have to say it… I’m getting sick of bundling up and building snowmen!
Lol, I’m with you on the snowmen! Love the visualization! So true that cyclical thinking provides some level of order and predictability to our lives that can actually help us make linear progress.
Hi Cylon
I don’t know what’s linear and cyclic thinking. Could you please explain this? I read almost all of your blogs.
Thanks
Vinita
Hi Vinita! Thanks for being a regular reader of the blog 🙂 Linear think, for me, brings to mind these words: short-term, step-by-step, goal oriented, endless progress. It’s the idea that tomorrow will always be “better” than today, that advances in technology will always produce good results for society, that companies will continue to increase profits year after year, that you’ll get the latest iPhone Apple puts out regardless of whether or not you need a new phone. Cyclical thinking for me is thinking in seasons. It’s about taking a more long-view on things. It’s recognizing that life is not about moving from one victory to the next, but that we all have our victories and defeats. During seasons of “defeat” a linear thinker may be tempted to throw in the towel because they are consumed by the day-to-day challenges. But a cyclical thinker in the same situation might say “this too shall pass” because the recognize that life is lived in seasons and better days are ahead. Wow…much longer response than I intended! Hope this helps.