Mastering Momentum Through Shared Values

I am utterly convinced that many of us underestimate the power of momentum.?

It seems to have fallen victim to the overuse syndrome, which makes it feel temporary and considered as merely the secondary outcome of a primary trigger.?

It’s not.?

It is in fact a trigger within itself. And, in the context of growth, it can be the most seismic of catalysts.?

What is Momentum?

Okay, so first let’s begin with definition.

Of course, there is the purely scientific definition too. But, for the purpose of this article, I want to focus on the broader interpretation - “the impetus and driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events.”

To gather momentum - I think this is a context that we all fully understand.?

As we begin to get moving, we start to gain speed. As we begin to nail down the process and get to grips with our vision, we accelerate towards our goals.?

But what is the trigger for momentum and when does the momentum actually start??

What precedes the sense of momentum? Inspiration, inherent drive, ambition, fear? And is momentum not also already present within these precoils??

Can momentum be tied to a specific degree of acceleration in execution or progress? Or is it merely something, like focus or commitment, which can be defined within a person’s character as a general trait (despite fluctuating levels of performance)?

Can you be good or bad at momentum?

Okay, so that’s a lot of questions and I have no idea how many I can even attempt to answer, but I will at least attempt to explore these concepts and tie them into some of my own personal experiences.

Feeling Momentum

The best way I can describe momentum - and its importance and fragility - is through a physical journey.?

I spent the best part of half a decade in the vision/planning stage of an expedition in my early to mid-twenties.?

It was a big vision. It was part of a broader concept. I had to raise funds. I had to build partnerships. But five years, really?

When did I feel momentum throughout that whole process? In truth, probably not until the wheels started turning on the bright yellow Land Rover we would call home for the next five months or so.?

So, in lieu of momentum, how did the vision become a reality? How did we even get to the start line? How do you get things done without picking up momentum?

Well, time is one thing. If you take five years to prepare something, you benefit from a rather uncommon embarrassment of time.?

Also, there is the context of necessity. Did it really require momentum? I mean, I wasn’t in any rush and the journey was somewhat spiritual - or at least philosophical - and thus it had to be given the space to grow.?

But can you really make progress without momentum??

And here I think, though we risk falling into semantics, is where the crux lies.

It could be argued that there was a steady momentum and it was only within the executory phase that this began to gather pace.?

If this is the case, then momentum is there from the first planting of the seed.?

As our thoughts gather momentum, we begin to build towards a clearer vision. As we begin to build this vision, the momentum shifts into logistics and planning - where momentum can be rather labored (or at least in my experience).?

And then finally, we realize the vision. We start the engine. We throw our baby into the wild (figuratively speaking). And that’s when momentum takes over. We are no longer the key determining factor behind it.?

This is an interesting concept, as it somewhat separates momentum into two quite separate categories - conscious and unconscious.

And it’s quite likely that we flitter in between each of these at all stages. I mean, our mind can run away with itself too.

There were other key learnings I made about momentum during that expedition too.?

??It Provides Solutions

You are less accepting of rejections or barriers or bottlenecks when you have momentum.

It’s almost like, your inner voice is screaming “hey, we’re busy going that way, forwards, so if we have to go through, round, over, or with you, that’s what we’ll do”.?

To paraphrase from a shoe giant, nothing is impossible in that state of mind. Well, until of course your engine explodes or a border crossing slams shut. But even then, the adjustment of progress is fast and the repositioning of this constant momentum is almost instant.?

You find solutions, because physically and mentally you’re already ten steps ahead.?

??It Can Crash?

What goes up, must come down. Okay, that’s not really what I mean, but it’s a nice little phrase nonetheless.

Again, if we consider the takeover of momentum - the moment where your conscious drive is replaced by a subconscious rhythm. This can be overwhelming.

We all have our defenses, our limits, our fears. And, unless you somewhat surrender to this internal force, you can end up battling back against it,?

It’s not that you don’t want to maintain the speed of progress, but more that you have some opposition to what that represents. Exhaustion? Danger? Success??

All of these things are, in their own way, something we are inherently built to protect ourselves against.?

Success, I suppose, is the anomoly there. But think about what that comes with. Responsibility, expectation, commitment. These are still areas we’re prone to worry about.?

So, while there is a sense of force pushing back against force, at some point something can crack. And that can be us.?

We can defeat momentum or perhaps it can defeat us. And we can find ourselves not only slowed, but also sometimes flung backwards into a grim pit of doubt, confusion, and surrender.?

I’ve been there. It’s not nice.?

It’s Physical??, Psychological??, and Spiritual ????

At the end of the expedition - having driven from the UK to South Africa, turned back almost immediately, and then driven more than half the way back up Africa to Ethiopia - my momentum slammed shut in my face.

I crashed - literally.?

On the final day of a more than six-month journey - which covered something like 20,000 kilometers of road - I crashed in rural Ethiopia.

I hit a child, who was sprinting across the road, behind a parked bus, in a busy village center.

I drove him to the hospital. He was okay. I became friends with his family.?

But, while I sat it out for a couple of extra days - waiting to attend a traditional court hearing - what I felt more so than anything else was what I can only refer to as a detached momentum.?

It felt as though I was literally unbalanced on my chair and tilting forwards.?

There was still motion in my veins. I was still rolling over bumpy terrain. But, physically I was still.?

This detachment - between my physical, spiritual, and mental momentum - left me dizzy, confused, and chronically fatigued.?

And ultimately, it took me several months to recalibrate.?

Momentum is a force. And, as a force, it requires balance and counterbalance.?

Out of the context of the expedition, momentum should be a constant that dials up and down, but doesn’t leap ahead or thrust backwards.

It should, to as great a degree as possible, be subconscious, learned, and instinctive. It shouldn’t be created by force, but through practice, muscle memory, and accessible flow state.

??Gather Your Momentum

So, what can you take away from this?

I’d say the primary thing is that one of the most crucial components of growth is connection.?

When you feel connected to a vision, or an idea, or a project, you can see 10 steps ahead. You can build intrinsic flow and access a subconscious and stable momentum.?

If rather you choose to focus on opportunity over obsession, then here’s where a passion towards broader success or wealth comes in handy. But, be warned, objective-led momentum is far more likely to overextend and result in that aforementioned fling back.?

This is 100% why the vast majority of successful entrepreneurs either create a business around something they love or they have such an inherent level of broader passion that they're able maintain this constant flow regardless of context.?

And in work too, or more broadly into your personal life - in lieu of more concrete goals and with more cyclical patterns of progress - momentum can best be found within values.

It’s these that become the constant.?

Reliability, respect, trust, transparency, effort, commitment - these are all values that can provide the foundational basis through which to build subconscious momentum and an accessible flow state.?

And - going back to connection - collaboration and companionship too can provide a great environment for honing values and therefore mastering momentum.

And, with that last point, in the context whereby many of us now work somewhat isolated and distracted, nothing can prove more powerful and beneficial in this pursuit than community.?Unity fuels success.