Two Tips for Maintaining Momentum
This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 6/8/20.
The past week was filled with news, stories and discussions that were incredibly heartbreaking and also transformational.
It’s transformational when you think about the information we’ve absorbed, the raised awareness, the amplified voices and the donations collected just in the past week.
It’s heartbreaking to think about the events that prompted this and the fact that many of us weren’t doing some of these things before.
Real, big things are happening right now and it’s powerful. But what will it be like one, two, six months from now? Will our momentum be gone when there is something else capturing the attention of the news, organizations and individuals?
In order to understand the concept of momentum better, I looked to the official definition. In physics, momentum is defined as “mass in motion.” Every object has mass, but an object only has momentum if it is moving.
The amount of momentum an object has is dependent on two variables: mass (how much stuff is moving) and velocity (how fast the stuff is moving).
Consider this example from The Physics Classroom: There’s a truck and a roller skate moving down the street at the same speed. Obviously, because of its greater mass, the truck has much more momentum than the roller skate. But we know momentum doesn’t just rely on mass. So if there’s a change to one of the variables – let’s say the truck is at rest – then the momentum of the roller skate would be the greatest. The momentum of any object at rest is zero.
No matter how big, objects at rest do not have momentum.
So how do we sustain momentum? We don’t let our efforts drop to zero. We focus on moving forward and setting up systems that prevent us from zeroing out.
We don’t need to just focus on only the “big” actions. Because although size plays a part in momentum, it is not the only variable. If we want to sustain momentum, we also need to focus on taking the next right step again and again and again.
Specifically, here are two steps that help me when I think about sustaining momentum for any goal:
- Break It Down
- Set Up Check-Ins
1) Break It Down: My goal is to be radically inclusive and become a better ally. That’s my aspiration. But standing at the start of the race and yearning for the finish line won’t make it come any closer. Instead, I need to forge my path forward by breaking down my goal into smaller steps. These smaller steps are my action items, or the things I’m actually doing on a day-to-day basis. For example, action items can be things like a certain number of books I want to read on this topic by the end of the year, ways I want to volunteer with an organization I’m passionate about or a certain percentage of money I want to commit.
2) Set Up Check-Ins. After my action items are identified, it’s crucial for me to set up a way to check in and evaluate my progress. I never liked those college courses where your entire grade was contingent on one or two exams. I would so much more prefer quizzes and homework assignments to serve as touch points throughout the semester. Although it would be more work, at least I’d have a better understanding of my performance and where I need to make adjustments ahead of exams. Setting up a reoccurring check-in with yourself can be instrumental in maintaining your momentum. We are striving for progress not perfection and this might be just the tool needed to become reinvigorated, re-motivated and allow you to tweak action items as needed.
Setting up a quick check-in can be as easy as putting a reminder in your calendar or asking a friend to follow up with you. If it would be helpful to have a surprise check-in email sent to your inbox, enter your email here. Entering your email will sign you up for a dedicated distribution list that will receive two check-in emails from me before the end of the year. The emails can be quick reminders for you to check in on your action items and keep moving forward toward your goal.
Regularly checking in with yourself could be the difference between maintaining momentum and becoming an object at rest.
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