Forward Movement
Posted on April 19, 2013 by Rachel Carter, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
How to keep your momentum going so that you are always making positive steps in the direction you want to go.
Newton’s law of inertia states that a body will keep its velocity and direction as long as no force in its direction acts upon it.
One of the main factors in living a happy life is forward movement. People have an innate need to feel that they are going somewhere, achieving something, making a difference. If they feel that they have no direction, they tend to just be going on without purpose. This may enable some people to be content; but it is unlikely to make people truly happy. You have to be bettering yourself, your life, or the lives of others in some way to be truly happy, or in other words, feel fulfilled.
It does not need to be something big or life altering each time; baby steps work just as well. In fact, baby steps are great! That way you don’t set yourself up for a big let down if you make a leap that does not land.
For me, getting to the gym in the morning really makes me happy. Even if I don’t want to go and the first 10 minutes really stink, I always leave happy to have done it. Planning a trip so that I know I have R&R coming up makes me happy. Spending time with really good friends or family makes me happy because strengthening those connections improves ones life. Cuddling with my kids or spending quality time with them in other ways does it for me, also. Even something as simple as cooking a really tasty yet healthy dinner makes me happy because I am taking care of my family. I am doing something. I am experiencing forward movement.
Take a minute to look back at all of the things that make you really happy, and I bet you will find that all of them result in some sort of forward movement, progress, and fulfillment.
Unfortunately, as Newton so wisely discovered in defining the law of inertia, sometimes our forward movement gets interrupted and we are no longer sure of where we are going or how we will get there. This is when you need to remind yourself of your values and goals; what is truly important in life.
