Vicious Cycle

Patterns rarely operate alone. They travel in packs. One pattern activates another, which activates another, and before you know it you're deep in a familiar, painful place wondering how you got here — again.

The vicious cycle map makes the invisible chain visible. Once you can see the loop, you can find the places where a different choice is possible.

Mapping the Cycle

Walk through these questions. Build the map as you go.

Step 1: What's the Situation or Trigger?

Start with the thing that sets the cycle in motion. It might be external (someone says something, something goes wrong) or internal (a thought, a feeling, a body sensation). Be specific.

Step 2: What's the First Pattern That Activates?

When that trigger lands, what's the first thing that happens inside you? What pattern switches on? Name it. Describe the behavior, the thought, the feeling.

Step 3: What Does That Trigger Next?

And then what? When you do that pattern, what happens next — inside you or between you and others? What's the next link in the chain?

Step 4: And Then What?

Keep going. Each pattern triggers the next. Follow the chain wherever it leads. Common sequences:

• Trigger --> Anxiety --> Control --> Partner pulls away --> Abandonment fear --> People-pleasing --> Resentment --> Withdrawal --> Guilt --> Over-functioning --> Exhaustion --> Trigger

• Criticism from boss --> Self-doubt --> Perfectionism --> Overwork --> Burnout --> Irritability at home --> Guilt --> People-pleasing --> Resentment --> Withdraw --> More self-doubt

Step 5: Where Does the Cycle Loop Back?

Find the moment where the chain circles back to the beginning — or to a place that reactivates the whole sequence. This is what makes it a cycle rather than a line. Name it.

Draw the Textual Map

Create a visual representation using text. Something like:

Trigger: [specific situation]
     |
     v
[Pattern 1: name and brief description]
     |
     v
[Pattern 2: name and brief description]
     |
     v
[Pattern 3: name and brief description]
     |
     v
[Pattern 4: name and brief description]
     |
     '--------> loops back to [Pattern 1 or Trigger]

Identify the Intervention Points

Now the powerful part. Look at the map and find:

The Entry Point

Where does awareness first become possible? Which link in the chain has the clearest body signal — the earliest moment you could catch yourself? This is where precycling is most effective.

The Weakest Link

Which connection between patterns is the most fragile — the place where a different choice would most easily break the chain? Sometimes it's not the first link but the third or fourth.

The Exit Ramp

Where is the off-ramp? If you could step out of the cycle at one point and choose the Right Road, where would that be? What would the Right Road response look like at that moment?

After the Mapping

Once the cycle is visible:

• Name it. Give the whole cycle a name. "My shutdown spiral." "The performance-approval loop." "The family dinner meltdown chain." Naming gives you power over it.
• Pick one link to work on. You don't have to transform the whole cycle at once. Pick the link where you have the most leverage — often the entry point or the weakest link — and focus your recycling practice there.
• Watch for it. Now that you can see the cycle, you'll start catching it in real time. That's precycling (try the /hoffman:precycling skill). Each time you catch it a little earlier, the cycle loses power.
• Recycle the key link. Use the /hoffman:recycling skill to transform the pattern at the weakest link or entry point.
• Save the map. Write the completed cycle map to personal/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-vicious-cycle-[name].md so it can be referenced in future sessions.

All Paths

All file paths are relative to the Hoffman root directory at ~/Dev-personal/Hoffman/.