Exploiting Momentum
Someone asked me the other day how I managed to stay upbeat, and full of energy. What keeps me going? What keeps me so fired up? I was pleasantly surprised, because I don’t particularly see myself that way. My answer included a bunch of things like growing older and having a chip on my shoulder, but in hindsight, a part of it is probably down to habit. I have been doing certain things almost every day for years now and at this point in time it is just a way of life, it is an obsession.
Every empty pocket of dead time – waiting in line, unexpected delays – I spend reading or watching videos. I’m always learning or being motivated or enjoying insights from the most productive, prolific and impactful people in the world. It’s just what I enjoy doing. If I’m too tired or feel overloaded, then I’ll binge watch Netflix. But generally, I fuel my fire every day out of habit.
I’ve been thinking about momentum lately.
“Momentum,” she repeats. “You can’t just stand there if you want something to fly. You have to run.” – Lauren DeStefano (Fever)
Since the beginning of the year, I blogged around the theme of how to get what you want. To get what you want, you have to know what you want and why it is so important to you. The burning desire for it is what makes you act, fighting against inertia to move you from point A to point B.
At the beginning it is hard work. You don’t know where to start, so you start anywhere. And because you are new to this, you fail, but you start again. You persist. You keep it moving, you keep working.
Soon you win the battle against inertia and eventually get into motion. Even though it feels like a series of starts and stops, eventually, we get a bit of wind. Taking action becomes easier, and now and then, we even start to gather hot streaks. We get stretches of time where we stay in motion, maintaining that flow, seeing our efforts begin to multiply. We have gained momentum. And this momentum is a powerful and profitable force.
Success requires first expending ten units of effort to produce one unit of results. Your momentum will then produce ten units of results with each unit of effort. – Charles J. Givens
Momentum emerges from being consistent over time. The longer we take a line of action, the deeper the habits are ingrained, and our moves become instinctual. But you have to front load the investment to reap the reward. And that reward is the exponential increase on our input.
When we gain momentum, we become formidable. With your moves stacking on each of each other, results begin to compound. Success builds on success. New possibilities appear, new doors open. The universe itself seems to unfold before you.
When you find yourself in the thickness of pursuing a goal or a dream, stop only to rest. Momentum builds success. – Suzy Kassem
But momentum can be fragile. It can become its worst enemy. Hypergrowth is just as bad as no growth if the system cannot grow to accommodate it. So, we must manage ourselves so as not to burn out from the power, from the abundance and increasing influx. It takes discipline to manage momentum. Too many times, we get a bit of traction and for some reason or the other, we stop and let it die out. To keep momentum alive in a sustainable way, and to protect it from waning or even reversing, we have to keep moving, we have to keep adding to the fire. We must continue to strike the iron while it is hot and knead while the dough is wet. We can’t afford to stop.
Sometimes, bad things happen. Tragedy strikes, we get unpleasant news, we get into bad company, we are knocked off course and pushed back on our heels. With that falter, rises the flicker of doubt. We see our momentum reverse against us. The fear sets in, the anxiety, we make another mistake, or another tragic thing occurs. We begin to spiral, maybe we react badly, reaching for something to cope. We are stressed, we are failing, and the failure compounds. This is how fortunes are lost, this is how citadels crumble.
Momentum can make you or break you. When it’s positive, it is great. It buoys you up like a wave, moving you forward with little effort. When it is negative, it is incredibly hard to stop and can dash you against the rocks.
You always want to optimize for forward momentum. Only stocking up healthy food and snacks in the house, as well as installing triggered habits like 5 push-ups every time you went to the bathroom, would make your forward momentum in staying fit more antifragile. Hanging around smart and inspired people can fuel your forward momentum in building a successful career into a roaring steam train.
The trick, once you have secured the basics of taking action towards your chief aims, is to go a little harder, a little faster, and a little longer. Build momentum and make it easier for yourself to succeed by pouring fuel on the flames.
This means staying focused. On the goal. On the objective. Despite distraction, and setback, you must keep an eye on the goal. Take a step back if you need to, catch your breath if you need to, but keep pushing forward, learn to break into those pockets of momentum. They will put wind in your sails and push you forward further and faster than you could imagine.
