Daily Habits Foster Momentum

Let’s talk about the concept of momentum for a minute. If we look up the word in the dictionary we’ll find:

1. PHYSICS The quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity.
2. The impetus gained by a moving object.”The vehicle gained momentum as the road dipped”
3. The impetus and driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events. “The investigation gathered momentum in the spring.”

It is all about the fact that the more you do something, the easier things become. This is true when riding a bicycle down a hill.

It is also true when we consider the habits that we form in our lives and businesses. I’m sure you noticed that the more you do something the easier it becomes to do. Take this blog for example. I’ve been writing this every week since 2010. By now, it is almost second nature. It’s easy.

I’ll be frank. Back when I started it was a slog.

Guess what? Somewhere along the way, the actual process of showing up and writing every week made me a better writer. I’ve invented a system for myself that works, and almost all of the time the article seemingly writes itself.

Because, you guessed it, there is momentum behind that effort.

How to Gain Momentum

The first step in your journey is going to have to be clarifying what success is going to look like for you. What are you trying to accomplish?

I think you need to start there, as that can outline and help define the steps you need to achieve your goal. This could be in learning, sales, business, health and fitness. Whatever.

What do you want?

Also, what do you NOT want?

Think about those two concepts for a minute. You are aiming to have clarity of purpose. Can you think of something in your personal, business, or career that you don’t have now that you would love to achieve?

What do you need to get there? Training? Tools? Time? Help?

Define your direction with crystal clear objectives and expectations.

You Gotta Show Up

Have you ever said something like this? “Sorry, I wasn’t able to do it because I was too busy.”

Let’s face it, you didn’t show up because it wasn’t a priority. If it really mattered to you, you would move mountains to achieve the goal.

Showing up is hard.

Whether it is going to the gym, reading a book a month, working on innovations in decoration, or making sales calls. It doesn’t matter. Showing up and being consistent with your effort is one of the most difficult challenges in building momentum.

But it is the absolute critical step. Consistently putting in the effort…even when you “don’t want to” is what gels the rocket sauce.

Consistency Becomes a Habit

Take for example, my son Jack’s favorite NBA player Giannis Antekokounmpo who plays for the Milawaukee Bucks.

Compare this video, filmed in 2013 which was a day in the life of Giannis during his rookie year in the NBA, to the next video of his highlights from last year’s NBA Finals where he was named MVP:

2013 to 2021. This is what eight years of consistent hard work and building momentum can do for you.

Why am I sharing this with you today?

Because you can be building momentum too. Consistent effort leads to winning habits.

Momentum Building Tips

Here are some tips that you can use in your business or life that can help you make a difference.

Don’t go crazy.

What is achievable now? Sure, you could make 47 sales calls in a day. But what is realistic for you to hit every single day, no matter what? Start there.

Show up.

Do the work. No excuses.

Make it a game.

“How many days in a row” is a good one. Use a cheap calendar and post it up on the wall. For every day that you hit your goal, make a giant red X on that day. Don’t break the streak!

Make it easy for yourself to achieve your goal.

For example, I wanted to make it a goal to film one video a day that was customer-facing or to use on social media. To do that, I bought a camera, tripod, and mic set up so all I have to do is hit “go” and I’m recording. The hardest part was setting everything up, not filming.

With that out of the way, I’m consistently hitting my goal and have momentum behind the effort.

Start With a Template

Can you create something that is “plug and play” to get the result that you want without having to start over? For articles like this, I write a brief outline of what I want to say in each paragraph.

Then, it is almost a fill-in-the-blank type scenario to write the article. It is much easier, as I’ve logically thought out what I want to say from beginning to end before I even start writing the first sentence.

For your goal, how can you predetermine what you are going to do so a chunk of the effort is already out of the way?

Have A Cheerleader

Want better results? Post what you are doing or inform others of your goal. Keep track and share both your effort and your results. Even when you make a mistake or don’t quite hit the mark. Those are the times when a chorus of “you got this” or “keep up the effort” really matters most.

Who is in your corner?

Better yet, are you someone else’s cheerleader for something they are working on? Can you help them gain momentum?

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure

Measure your effort. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A tally sheet with tick marks or a spreadsheet works great.

Momentum is built when you keep good records and consistently are jotting down what happened. This is how you learn what is working and what isn’t.

Also, I’ve found that just the act of checking on something makes me want to improve and gets the creative juices flowing. Keep notes.

Habits Are Cumulative

Every day that you do something with a small, consistent effort it leads to a bigger result. These add up and stack.

Momentum is built when it almost seems like second nature to do the work, and you aren’t even really thinking about it any longer. When your actions are muscle memory and ingrained, that’s when you win.

It sure worked for Giannis.

“Success comes from taking the initiative and following up …persisting… eloquently expressing the depth of your love. What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life?” – Tony Robbins

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act. It is a habit.” – Will Durant

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” – Warren Buffett

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