In physics, objects in motion are said to have a momentum. This momentum is a vector. It has size and a direction. It has velocity.
This is significant for me because the single greatest thing lesson I’ve internalized this year is the all-importance of momentum. Whether you’re a writer or something else, the same is probably true of you, too.
We exert tremendous amounts of energy overcoming inertia, simply getting started and headed in the right direction. Then after we’ve picked up some speed we let up, ease off the gas, coast. It’s a fatal mistake where dreams are concerned because gravity is relentless and, unlike us, doesn’t need sleep.
The challenge isn’t beginning. That’s simple. The trick is continually and consistently adding “push” to your situation so you can keep momentum. Knowing how to do that is a thing that’s unique to each of us. I have a friend who keeps a list of his goals in front of him everyday and reads it in the morning and evening. I know someone else who wrote a future article about herself talking about what it took to become the success she is (will be). Me, I keep a piece of paper in my office. All it says is “New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin Kaiser.”It’s enough to remind me to shove the pedal back down to the floor when I want to give up (which is most days).
Bottom line…find whatever it is that encourages you and adds “push” to your day. Keep your momentum, especially when it’s hard (which is most days), because it’s easier to keep a moving object in motion than it is to start a dead one rolling.
How do you keep momentum?