Momentum
Momentum is a weird thing. Get moving in a positive direction and it’s your best friend. Start down a bad path, and it’s your worst enemy.
Recently I’ve had some positive career momentum. I’ve made connections through Midlife Pickle and BrandFlick that have brought on several opportunities I couldn’t have imagined six months ago. I’m looking forward to bringing some of these to fruition.
I’ve also struggled to get my weight loss momentum moving in the right direction. I’ve hovered between 5-11 pounds lost for two months. I’ve been working out more than ever in my life and consistently tracking my caloric intake, yet I’ve not been able to achieve the progress I was expecting. In my past weight loss attempts I would have given up weeks ago, but I’m forcing myself to focus on the gains in strength and stamina and hope that will build momentum.
Other than fitness goals, I’ve experienced negative momentum in both personal and professional situations. When my boys were very young, Jason and I struggled to adjust to a) working together and b) having two people depend on us for everything. Once we stopped working as a team and started keeping track of who was doing what, we were on a downward spiral of finger pointing and martyrdom that took major changes and several years to repair.
In my marriage, I committed to working to recover from the damage done because keeping my family intact was of the utmost importance. Professionally, I’ve taken a different approach of cutting my losses and starting anew when things slip downhill. The jury is still out as to whether that has been wise, but I’ve yet to find an organization where I felt enough loyalty to dig in and make things work at any cost. This is changing.
This new approach to my career means I have no choice but to power through and build momentum where there is none. In the past if I was having a bad week, I could skate by until I was able to regroup. Working for myself means I have no option but to create opportunity out of nothing and if I slow down, progress could screech to a halt. Sure, I have a lot of schedule flexibility, but in order to find the success I’m aiming for, I can never rest on my laurels.
So where does momentum come from?
Momentum is defined as the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity. While that definition is all about the physics, I’m learning that momentum has more to do with my mental state. It shows up in the habits that I’m building, the shift to more positive internal dialogue and my commitment to being more open about my struggles instead of hiding them. Every time I’m able to power through a tough workout, it lends to my confidence level when speaking to a potential client. Exercising at 5am means I’m likely to drink more water and eat a balanced lunch.
What does this mean?
Each of these small victories builds a foundation for a stronger spirit, higher morale and determination to keep improving a little more every day. It’s rare that any of these decisions are groundbreaking—eat healthier, move more, don’t procrastinate, stick with a daily schedule—but I’ve spent decades doing what was comfortable in the moment instead of what would be best for me long-term. It was a slippery slope that started with eating a handful of potato chips and sleeping 10 minutes later than I planned that evolved into eating a bag of chips and hitting the snooze button for 50 minutes (nothing worse than starting your day with a broken promise to yourself). Each of those decisions whittled away at my confidence and led to self-speak confirming I wasn’t worthy of respect.
Now that I realize this, I’m focusing my energy on keeping promises to myself, internally highlighting positive attributes and practicing daily gratitude. This is creating momentum and helping me build a foundation I spent the last 20 years kicking over. I suggest you try it too. Start by setting your alarm for the time you actually want to get up, write 5 of your best qualities on a post-it note and put it on your mirror or start a gratitude list, adding an item each day. I’m learning to use momentum in my favor, I suggest you give it a try too.
As always, I want to hear from you. How has momentum been a positive or negative force in your life? Have you found ways to harness the power of momentum? Please comment below or email me at mollie@midlifepickle.com.
