RECURRING LOOPS · PATTERN DICTIONARY

Recurring Patterns

Procrastination, burnout and the apology never made are things we repeat while knowing better, and each has a different cause. Two people can share a pattern and stall at different points, and different points need different fixes. These pages separate those causes, type by type.

ALL LOOPS · 44
These public pages cover the general shape of each pattern. Complete the assessment to see which ones actually show up in you, how strongly, and which levers fit.
Getting Things Done
Procrastination
Even with the same procrastination, the point where people stop differs from person to person. Whe...
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Relationships
Recurring Conflict
The other person changed, so why is the fight the same? Whether in dating, family, or work, if con...
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Work & Achievement
Burnout
Ever rested a whole weekend and felt worse on Monday? Burnout is not laziness or weakness. People ...
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Relationships
Can't Say No
By the time the request is finished, you have already said yes. Not refusing is not about being ni...
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Getting Things Done
Unfinished Projects
Are there things you started left sitting in every folder? Not finishing is not a question of stam...
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Getting Things Done
Priority Chaos
Have you had many days when you were busy all day but never touched the one task that mattered? Fa...
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Getting Things Done
Last-minute Cramming
Why are you so capable the night before a deadline? Leaving things to the last minute is not lazin...
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Getting Things Done
Broken Focus
Have you had days when you spent three hours on a task that needed twenty-five minutes? Losing con...
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Getting Things Done
Perfectionism Stall
Ever had work that was already good enough and still could not send it? This is the opposite of la...
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Getting Things Done
Decision Avoidance
That thing in your cart for weeks: are the decisions you have put off piling up like that? Not dec...
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Getting Things Done
Post-decision Regret
You made the big decision, and now you cannot stop thinking about the option you did not take. Reg...
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Getting Things Done
Short-lived Resolutions
The plan made on the first of January that ended on the fourth, and not for the first time. Abando...
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Getting Things Done
Motivation Fade
You started this because you loved it. When did it stop? Losing interest is not fickleness. It is ...
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Getting Things Done
Rest That Doesn't Restore
You rested the whole weekend and none of it was rest. When rest does not restore you, the problem ...
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Mind & Emotion
Bottled-up Emotions
You say "I'm fine" every time, and then one small thing sets you off. Keeping feelings to yourself...
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Mind & Emotion
The Anxiety Loop
Ever spent today on something that has not happened yet? Anxiety is the mind watching the future t...
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Mind & Emotion
Overthinking & Rumination
Three days going over a three-minute conversation. When you cannot stop returning to something tha...
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Mind & Emotion
The Self-Criticism Loop
Do you say things to yourself every day that you would never say to anyone else? Criticizing yours...
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Mind & Emotion
Trouble With Anger
The anger is not the problem. What happens once it arrives is. Anger is a signal to be used rather...
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Mind & Emotion
Comparison & Envy
The night you saw their news, did your own life suddenly look smaller? Comparing yourself with oth...
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Mind & Emotion
Slow Recovery
Everybody else is over it and you are still hurt days later. Recovering slowly is not weakness. Pe...
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Mind & Emotion
Guilt & Over-responsibility
When something goes wrong, is your name always first among the causes? Taking on too much responsi...
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Mind & Emotion
Emptiness & Apathy
Doing everything you are supposed to, and stringing together days of not knowing what any of it is...
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Mind & Emotion
Can't Open Up
How many times now has "How are you doing?" been answered with "Oh, you know"? Keeping things insi...
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Relationships
Conflict Burying
All those things you covered over with "It's nothing." Were they nothing? Not raising a conflict c...
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Relationships
Guardedness
Enjoying people, while one part of your mind is still checking the way out. Being guarded is not a...
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Relationships
Clinginess & Over-dependence
Ever thought of a hundred explanations in the thirty minutes a reply took? Clinging is not too muc...
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Relationships
Can't Let Go
Is there a relationship you have known for years you should leave? Not ending it is not indecision...
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Relationships
Miscommunication
Ever spoken the same language and heard two different sentences? Communication does not fail from ...
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Relationships
Can't Apologize
You have been sorry for days and still have not said it. Where an apology stops differs from perso...
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Relationships
Intimacy Avoidance
Right as a relationship starts to deepen, does something start to feel suffocating? Avoiding close...
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Relationships
Approval Dependence
Ever answered "What do you want for lunch?" with "What are you having?" without thinking? Being sw...
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Work & Achievement
Career-change Hesitation
Three years of looking into how to leave, and the resignation letter still unsent. Hesitating to l...
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Work & Achievement
Self-promotion Difficulty
Ever answered "Tell us what you did" with "Oh, it was a team effort"? Not speaking for your own wo...
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Work & Achievement
Carrying It Alone
Does "Need any help?" get an immediate "No, I've got it"? Carrying everything alone is not only co...
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Work & Achievement
Feedback Flinch
Does "Can I give you one piece of feedback?" tighten your chest before the feedback arrives? Being...
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Work & Achievement
Leadership Transition
Excellent on your own, and lost since the day you became the manager. Finding the change hard is n...
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Money, Time & Desire
Spending Extremes
Why are you on payday and you at the end of the month two different people? Overspending and over-...
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Money, Time & Desire
Future-planning Delay
Retirement planning, the health check, the insurance review, years now on the "really should" list...
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Money, Time & Desire
Attention Drain
Ever opened something for just five minutes and looked up two hours later? Losing time to it is no...
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Identity & Direction
Lost Direction
Running hard, and suddenly stopped by "Is this even the right road?" Losing your direction is not ...
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Identity & Direction
Living Others' Expectations
The record is excellent and the life does not seem to be yours. Living by other people's expectati...
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Identity & Direction
Transition Wobble
New job, new city, first home of your own, retirement. Ever felt unsteady for no reason after a la...
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Identity & Direction
Meaning Void
You thought getting there would fill it, and there was nothing there. Losing the point of it is no...
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This dictionary shows the general architecture. Which patterns repeat in you, for which reason, and how strongly, the assessment tells you that.

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