Maintenance of Momentum

I'd take consistency over motivated every day of the week...

BLUF - When you’re on a wining streak you’re more likely to keep on winning. So it’s vital that once you seize the initiative you then maintain it and even capitalise on it ensuring that you gain winning momentum.

What does it mean to maintain the momentum? Think of a large, heavy iron ball rolling down a grassy hill side. It starts slowly at first. Gravity is helping it along and is accelerating the sphere. Its speed is ever increasing. The blades of grass are nothing but small frictions that the ball effortlessly rolls over, in fact the frictions actually start to assist the ball rather than hinder it (growth). If something substantial does get in its way the iron ball simply squashes it or reduces the other object to mere rubble. That’s momentum. Once the roller ball starts nothing but a problem that is equal to the magnitude of the ball, plus some, can slow its momentum. Then when the ball is finally in the bottom of the gully it comes to rest. Perhaps this is an analogy for life. Focus just on the momentum and keep the ball moving. 

Then there’s this. 

Now we need to get that ball back to the top of the grassy hill. The ball is iron, so it’s heavy, it is now a huge burden. We need to apply effort to it, because gravity is a bitch. The grass is wet and slippery, so takes away our force. The effort is draining. If we stop for a second we loose ground, two steps forward and one step backwards. Perhaps this is also an analogy for life, the never-ending struggle to make something of yourself, or chasing an elusive dream or you’re in that relationship that forever feels like pushing an iron ball up the side of a slippery grass hill. Lose momentum lose the game.

We would all rather chase our goals by pushing the roller ball down the side of a hill and then simply follow it along its path. Perhaps giving it a nudge here and there to keep the ball travelling in the right direction, down and on the line that we intended. 

Maintaining this sort of momentum is easier than you think. It comes down to having a winning attitude, looking at loses as lessons and most importantly controlling how we perceive ourselves in the world. There are only things, you get to control how you feel about them. Some of the concepts for how we can be in charge of our lives also translates to the way in which we can develop and maintain the momentum.

For example:

• Design long term goals
• Make monthly and weekly plans
• Scrap motivation and develop a consistent approach
• Trust the process

So you see, small incremental wins are necessary for developing and maintaining the momentum. But, just as importantly the way you deal with your losses also contributes to your overall momentum. 

Extract from "The Commando Way".

Bram Connolly