A common decay pattern has been observed in a number of very different systems under cyclic operations. The decay behavior can be described by a simple equation. The cause of the decay is considered to be compositional or structural inhomogeneities of the system. Although the decay mechanisms are divergent, a unified description of the decay can be provided, and the knowledge obtained from the studied systems can be applied more generally. The results from cyclic processes may also provide new insights into decay behavior of many continuous processes.