As I was running a 25km trail run today and reflecting on my progress on my book and my podcast, it crystallized for me about the importance of momentum and how to use it. I was reminded by listening to the end of Rich Roll’s book, Finding Ultra earlier in the week. He talks about the need to keep the momentum when training or writing a book, to keep touching it, to keep putting in energy even after significant progress where the tendency is to relax or pause and celebrate. It’s OK to celebrate, but if you pause too long, you lose the momentum, your fitness erodes, and you book stagnates. I realized I pause too long to celebrate my wins when writing and podcasting. But running the 25k today, I see that keep the momentum in my fitness and I can see the results of the DAILY effort! I harness momentum well. Much of today’s race was on mountain bike trails, with steep, short downhills followed by steep, short uphills. Many went slowly down the hill and then very slowly across the narrow bottom and had to work hard to climb the others side. Whereas I let gravity pull me down, building speed effortlessly, and then jumped across the ravine, and used that momentum to pull me relatively easily up the other side. It works the same way in life, if we have some momentum, whether it lucky break like a big win we weren’t expecting from a customer or a downhill on the trail, or unexpected wind in your sails, we must use it because there is going to be something tough coming up we will need the momentum to overcome, like the upside of the ravines I was running today. Momentum can help in lateral ways as well as I saw going through water today. First, when the water was four inches deep and I couldn’t even see the bottom, I just ran quickly and my feet never got wet by splashing the water away from my shoes and having them gone before the water came back. Second is crossing water on a small, unstable, log. By running fast, with quick short steps on the log, I made it to the other side upright and with dry feet. If I went slowly and carefully and tried to balance on the log, I would have fallen into the ankle deep mud and lost time too. I used momentum well on trail today and in general physical fitness where I keep myself fit so I don’t have to restart, which takes tremendous energy. I’m not so effective yet on my podcast and book. I’ll have a great podcast or two and think “Wow, this is really great! I made such good progress, not I can pause.” When I need to use that momentum to contact the next guests and get another episode done. Of course, I need plenty of rest and relaxation, but to not use that momentum, to restart each time, will take much more energy over the long haul. I already apply that in my health and, with this clarity, look forward to applying in other areas as well.
How are you using momentum well in your life? Where are you letting the momentum sap by pausing too long? Where have you put in the energy to get the flywheel spinning, or maybe you’ve been lucky and something gets the flywheel spinning for you, but you don’t keep going? If you aren’t pushing it a little each day, eventually it stops and it takes tremendous energy to get it spinning again. Use momentum when you have it. Appreciate and celebrate your wins and keep the flywheel turning to get more of what you want out of life with less effort.
Have a great weekend,
Art
