Momentum is an awesome thing

How does one gain momentum?  Is momentum something that we create, or does it somehow just happen to us?  

At least the recumbent bike is not bad for my neck or back.

This is an interesting question that pondered this morning as I pedaled away on the recumbent bike at the gym.   Today was my third consecutive day at the gym, all three of which I have spent on the recumbent bike.

Day one was sign-up day, so I only worked out about 30 minutes.  Yesterday, I upped the workout to 45 minutes, though the bike I was using all of a sudden – and inexplicably -decided to have a mind of its own.  It decided that I must not have been working hard enough at level 11, and shot straight to level 25 (max level).    

My quads burned. I tried to keep going at this higher resistance.  Soon I ground to a halt.  This killed my momentum, ending my workout.

Today, I switched bikes. After 60 minutes of heart-pumping, sweat-inducing biking, I stood up – legs wobbly – with a giant smile on my face.  

Why was I so happy?  Unlike past experiences, I didn’t allow one obstacle get in my way. Instead, I made sure to get up on that bike, try again, and even go longer.  I wouldn’t let my momentum be shot down.  

I think this holds true with everything we do.   It takes a ton of energy to get the ball rolling. Somehow, like magic, eventually it becomes easier to keep the same ball rolling once in motion.  It’s the whole “bodies in motion tend to stay in motion” that you learned back in high school science. Once you start, it becomes so much easier to keep on going.  You can’t slow it down.  You don’t want to slow it down.  This is momentum.

The trouble comes when excuses creep in.

We’ve all heard them.  ”I can’t afford it,” “I don’t have time,” “I’m too tired,”  ”my spouse/partner/kid is (insert lame excuse here).”   The list goes on and on…

For the last 10 days, I have (mostly) kicked the coffee habit.  I have reestablished a new habit of tea.  I feel great, and don’t feel the need to go back to drinking a pot of coffee (or more) every day.  My new habit has momentum.

I am three days into going to the gym.  Every subsequent day that I drag myself out of bed, lace-up my running shoes, and make the choice to just go with the momentum and ride wave is another day toward building that new habit.

… and look, today is my second consecutive day writing a blog post. Is it possible that I am creating a new momentum here too?

The hardest part is creating the initial movements.  Once those movements become habit, they become easier and easier to maintain. They build momentum.   So, start small and pretty soon all of those little things will add-up to to something big – something unstoppable. 

What can you do today to start creating your momentum?

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Music and children’s books from Bryce Westervelt

Die schöne Müllerin - Franz Schubert

Pomodoro Penguin Makes a Friend - a children’s picture book

Pomodoro Penguin and the Geography Giraffe