How The Seasons Don't Matter When Creating Momentum

We're an excuse riddled society.

We waste more time and come up with more reasons for why we can't do something rather than just acting in the first place. One of my all-time favorites is when I hear individuals talk in relation to the 'time of year' or the 'season' we're currently in or heading into as if the invisible hand of Adam Smith somehow evolved from economic shifts over to weather enacted motivation.

Some of my favorite lines I've heard include:

• "It's Fall, so the kids are going back to school and the holidays will be here soon."
• "It's Winter, and the holidays are here so the kids are home more."
• "It's Spring, and we're finally getting back into the swing of things after Winter."
• "It's Summer, and it's our first chance to relax all year, plus the kids are out of school. We'll get to it when the kids go back to school in the Fall."

And just play each of those tracks on repeat forever.

We're an excuse riddled society.

Momentum has this curious way of snowballing in either the positive or negative direction. Yet, it really has nothing to do with the seasons. If you haven't caught on yet, these are all excuses we make up to defer and delay our activity. Which can last for a day, week, month or sometimes ever years.

There’s a few outside opinions on what we could do to create momentum and to gain that motivation we need to move forward:

• What did Discipline say to Motivation? "I'm gonna eat your lunch." by Nathan White
• Your Motivation to Start a Company in Silicon Valley Sucks by Adam Thomas Harper
• The Lies Our Mind Tells us to Prevent Life Changes by MA Mabukal

There's a fantastic book also written by Daniel H. Pink titled 'Drive' that is worth reading and here's a video excerpt from the book:

There simple things you can do immediately to take action include:

1: Just Start Now

Put away the excuses and just do it. Now. Start that podcast, build that website, make that recipe, rent that Redbox, write that letter. Just do it, now.

2: Let the Momentum Carry You

Once you've started, just hold onto the reigns ever so lightly to make sure you can steer, but just let your actions carry you forward.

3. Continually Explore

Just like swinging on a swing, you have to keep pumping your legs, otherwise eventually you'll stop moving. You have to continually explore to help sustain or improve upon your initial momentum and trajectory.

To learn more about increasing your momentum you can visit Pause. Think. Consider. and download or listen to today's episode on The Seasonality of Moods & Momentum.

About The Author

Jesse Liebman is the creator of the podcast project Pause. Think. Consider. You can connect with him on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.