The catchphrase Downward Spiral talk stands for a resigned way of speaking that excludes possibility Downward Spiral talk is based on the fear that we will be stopped in our tracks and fall short in the race, and it is highly reactive to circumstances, circumstances that appear to be wrong, problematic, and in need of fixing. Every industry or profession has its own version of Downward Spiral talk, as does every relationship. Focusing on the abstraction of scarcity, Downward Spiral talk creates an unsaleable story about the limits to what is a possible, and tells us compellingly how things are going from bad to worse.
Why does it spiral downwards, why do things tend to look more and more hopeless? For the same reason that red buses always seem to come in threes and that pregnant women appear out nowhere approximately 8 months before your baby is due. The more attention you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence of it will grow. Attention is the light and air and water. Shine attention on obstacles and problems and they multiply lavishly.
Excerpts taken from "The art of possibility" by Rosamund Stone Zander/Benjamin Zander
