The Power of Momentum
The best way to think of momentum is to think of a set of dominos standing in a long line. All that is required to set the whole line tumbling is to lightly tap just the first domino. The only effort required on your part, is the initial light tap. After that, momentum does the rest.
Momentum is what happens when your initial energy or effort causes the first domino to fall backwards onto the second domino, and that second domino then falls backwards and knocks over the third, and the third knocks over the fourth, the fourth knocks over the fifth, and on and on it goes. The first step requires the most energy, and each step after that requires less and less energy. Momentum is the continuation of an initial effort.
Momentum is incredibly powerful. Once you realize that the persistent effort you put in builds on itself at an exponential rate, you understand the importance of momentum.
The hardest part of any endeavour is always the start. Taking the first step is always the hardest, the most daunting and the part that poses the most resistance. It’s not to say that everything after the initial part is easy, but it certainly gets easier as your momentum builds.
Have you ever seen those kids that go flying down hills on their bikes like little daredevils? They have to push their pedals pretty hard at the start, but once they get going, they don’t even need to pedal anymore. They go faster and faster and faster. That’s momentum!
Very often, we don’t put enough effort into those first few pushes, and so no momentum can be generated. For momentum to be created, there must first be an exertion of effort. To get a boulder rolling down a hill, it must first be pushed. Once it’s rolling, it’s almost impossible to stop.
Our lives, our businesses, our relationships, our careers, our passions, they all benefit massively from momentum. Sometimes we never begin the pursuit of our dreams because we think it will be too hard or that it will be a non-stop uphill battle. While it’s entirely true that anything worthwhile takes time and certainly requires hard work, we often neglect to take the power of momentum into account.
Growth is momentum. It’s why a small computer start-up that began in a garage can turn into Apple Inc. The more effort they exerted at the start, the bigger they grew. The more they grew, the more money they made. The more money they made, the more great minds they could hire and the more they could invest in research and development. The more greats mind they had, and the more R&D they did, the better products they could make and the more market share they could capture. It’s an ever growing cycle that is predicated on the power of momentum.
You know that saying, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start, to be great”? It’s absolutely true. You don’t start where you dream of being. You start where you are and get to where you dream of being. You start at the bottom, work hard and refuse to give up. When you do that, you start to notice that things start to get better and better, things go your way more and more often, and you go from strength to strength. That’s momentum – putting in the effort and seeing that effort compounded over and over and over again.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, Gary Player, once said, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” Few statements sum up momentum better than this. When we put in the effort and get that big boulder moving, even by just an inch or two, it will slowly start to roll and it will begin to gather speed. Before you know it, that boulder will be rolling down the hill, getting faster and faster and faster.
So make that first push, no matter how small. Take that first step, that first action. Send that first email, make that first call, draw that first idea. Put your energy into getting it rolling, and trust the concept of momentum. It doesn’t mean you do one thing and then sit back and do nothing else, but if you take consistent action, you’ll begin to notice that it becomes easier and easier and you’ll be surprised how “lucky” you always seem to be.
