3 Truths About Maximizing Life’s Momentum

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Cherese Jackson, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

As a woman, I find the amount of television commercials pertaining to our health fascinating. If you do a simple survey, you will find that medically-based commercials rival the traditional automotive and retail placements and appear just as often. What recently caught my attention was the beginning of an osteoporosis commercial in which the announcer said, “A body in motion tends to stay in motion.” This was a simple fact that made me ponder how life really works.

Momentum is a concept much like the wind. It is rarely talked about but always felt. Momentum has existed under many aliases: flow, mojo, synergy, cohesiveness, motivation and many others. But the effects have all been undeniably the same. When you have momentum in your life, things have a way of working out. It is the intangible ingredient that pushes you above the rest and helps you realize the potential locked inside. Momentum is what gets you out of bed and puts that gleam of confidence in everything you do.

Many know the unofficial definition of momentum, but I really want to dig into what it means to your success. Momentum is defined as the measureable law of an object’s speed and velocity during movement. Simply put, momentum is the force you create when you begin to move in the direction of your dreams. If you are sitting on the couch, complaining and wishing things were better, you have no momentum. The moment you get up and start moving in your necessary direction, something awesome happens!

As I coach clients, I usually hear stories of how difficult it is to start the motivation process. Of course it’s hard, that’s why many people do not accomplish their dreams. I want to give you some truth about maximizing life’s momentum:

• Momentum begins as an act of our will: If you are waiting for a magical feeling, it won’t come. If you decide what needs to be done and develop a big enough “Why” internally, a spark will form. This spark is just like a small flicker of a flame that gets fed. It grows and grows and eventually what you feel inside will begin to manifest outside. But it all starts with your will.

• Small steps really do matter: The biggest hindrance to your goal is failing to take the small steps. When you are facing a major amount of weight to lose, it becomes easy to discard a walk around the block, or light dressing on the salad. Why? Because it’s not a major step. Big steps are nothing but smaller steps working together.

• Just like a surfer, you have to be ready to ride: Momentum is often referred to as a wave. When you understand the process surfers go through, it helps you appreciate your own journey. They paddle out, and wait for the moment when their wave is beginning to crest. At that point, it takes guts to stand up and ride it into the beach. That’s what we have to do in life.

Life boils down to maximizing the moments you are given. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is a postdated check. All we ever really possess is the moment we have now. The question before you: what are you going to do with what you have right now? I suggest taking the points I have shared and preparing to ride the momentum coming your way. When momentum shows up, you can’t just get ready; you have to BE ready