The Snowball Effect

One of the most powerful determinants of human behavior and emotional wellbeing is the snowball effect. This is the phenomenon whereby one thing leads to another in a particular direction, resulting in a positive or negative spiral. Otherwise known as a vicious or virtuous circle, this process is of huge importance and is all-too-often ignored in discussions of effectiveness, success, and the achieving of goals.

The best way to explore the snowball effect is to consider a hypothetical example. Let us imagine a child who suffers from shyness and social anxiety. If we turn the clock back we may find that at some earlier point he or she did not indeed experience this negative reaction to social encounters. However at some point there is some kind of unpleasant response from a fellow student, an experience of physical or emotional bullying or even just an upsetting experience of social rejection. The next time the child is in a social situation there will be a heightened state of anxiety or apprehensiveness. This nervous state may lead to awkward behavior, or at least to a lack of confidence. This in turn may mar the social interaction, leading to further anxiety on subsequent occasions.

In this way, one bad thing leads to another, in a widening spiral of negative expectations leading to negative results in subsequent social interactions.

However, it's not all bad news. Exactly the same principles apply on the positive side as well. Let's imagine a child who comes across as wonderfully confident and positive in their interactions with people. In this case we may look back in time and find that at earlier times, he or she did not experience this same level of social confidence. However, a positive experience of successfully making a new friend led to a boost in self-esteem. On the next occasion of social interaction, this more positive attitude came across and led to further social acceptance and approval.

And so, success breeds success, and over time a solid self-assurance is built and reinforced.

What the above two hypothetical cases show is that the snowball effect can have major and life-changing outcomes, in positive or negative directions. The message to take away from all this is that whatever negative patterns you may wish to change in your life, they are not carved in stone. Rather they are probably the result of a vicious circle that spiraled out over time. Instead of despairing, the idea is to break out of that negative circle, and to create the beginnings of a positive or virtuous circle that will over time spiral out into positive, rewarding and desirable patterns in your life.

These daily peptalks are designed to inspire you to create such positive results in your life from this day forward...


 

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