creating momentum when stressed
Stress comes to us from many avenues. For many of us, when we think stress we think of big items e.g., stress from work, stress from a marriage, or stress from finances. There are many other significant stresses that come in smaller doses. When our cup is near full of how much stress we can handle with the large items, the micro-stresses start to become more significant and could leave us paralyzed from accomplishing personal goals.
Tony Robbins once said, happiness comes from purpose and progress. When we are progressing, it provides a sense of happiness since accomplishing something special can make us feel good. It is the dopamine release we receive when we accomplish a task, which leads to happiness and a sense of peace. It is sometimes temporary, but a positive feeling, nonetheless.
When we are stressed and have personal goals, it becomes difficult to get started. In personal development we are starting to see stress grow from wanting to become better. For example, let’s say you have a goal of running a 5K and improving your health. The added pressure of running every day begins to pile up on your already stressed-out body and brain, and you start to lose momentum or motivation. Weird right? Why would something good for you make you feel the opposite?
There is a key effect however, that can help make personal goal accomplishment much easier. It is something that will make the starting and consistency process more tolerable during stressful times. It is called, MOMENTUM.
We all grasp the concept of momentum in physics. If you have ever pushed a stalled car, the start of that movement is difficult, but once you get the car in motion the car rolls faster and faster, and you expend less energy than when you started.
This concept is why momentum in personal goals is so important during stressful times. Stress can suck up your energy. Your intentions are to be better with personal goals, but life is just weighing you down and you cannot take on anymore. However, the great thing about momentum is that it can provide to you more emotional and psychological energy as you move forward in person goals. Therefore, you are gaining energy AND making progress at the same time while still managing stress in other factors of life.
So how do we create momentum?
To get started, remember a few things:
1. There is never a best time to get started, but the right time is now.
2. You don’t need a perfect plan to begin; the fundamentals are enough to get started.
3. You are not too busy. Everyone is busy and people still get it done. Being busy is not an excuse.
Next, you want to start SMALL!
The reason we want to start small is because of a concept called Psychological Momentum. According to an article in Frontiers of Psychology, Psychological Momentum (PM) is conceptualized as a perceptual phenomenon that changes human behavior and performance, and research suggests that the main psychological processes that underpin momentum effects are confidence, perceived competence, and internal (ability-skill) attributions.
Basically, the first process of PM is initial success or what we call a “win.” The win then leads to positive effects e.g., confidence, and it helps to ignite momentum. Think about a time when you started something new, and you had initial success. When you closed your first client. When you landed that first job. When you lost that first 5 pounds. Remember how great that felt? Remember how you were ready for more? That is the beginning of momentum. That feeling is when the stalled car begins to move.
Here are a few actions you can take now to accomplish MOMENTUM:
1. Do something 10% better.
If you are working out but hitting a plateau, you can work to improve your workout by 10% to gain momentum again. You can slow down your reps, you can focus on the full range of motion, you can use free weights instead of machines. It is not necessarily the outcome of the change, but the conquering of the change itself that can ignite momentum once again. If you are starting a business, what can you improve by 10%? Can you improve your marketing, operations, or customer experience by 10%? Yes, you can absolutely improve a task or action item by 10%. If you are struggling on what to improve, ask yourself, what will help my outcome if I do ______ just a little bit better?
2. Cut one thing out of your current routine.
We are all doing something that is not helping with goal accomplishment. There may be many things to cut out of the routine, but let’s start with just one item. What is one thing only you can get rid of to better your outcome. If you want to lose weight, cut out the ice cream at night. If you are drinking or smoking too much, cut one drink or one cigarette out of your routine. If you want more peace, cut one negative phone call out of your life. Think about one small item you can cut out to help build a win and start momentum.
3. Add one positive thing to achieve your goal.
Adding something new often helps with momentum because there is a sense of excitement and motivation when trying something you have not tried before or have not tried in a while. If you want to get active, start walking for 10 minutes a day, even if it’s around the house. In you want to increase your savings, save a very small amount per week. You can transfer the money into a savings account or place the money in your piggy bank. Either way is a great way to start momentum in savings, but try to accomplish the new item frequently to get that early win.
4. Replace one bad with one good.
Perhaps you do not want to commit to a complete extraction of something in your routine, but instead are open to replacing it with a better choice. This works well too. Going back to the nightly dessert example, instead of cutting it out completely, you could replace the ice cream with something better like yogurt and berries. Instead of multiple IPA beers, you can replace those with a glass of wine or vodka & soda. If you hate working out with free weights, try something different like yoga or Pilates.
The key to building momentum is starting with SMALL and EARLY changes to achieve a quick win! It is the small win that releases the dopamine and keeps us wanting more. Plus, a small win increases our confidence and self-potential to eventually grow into monster gains and long-term success. Try one of my tips out today!
As a certified coach, I can help you build momentum with what you are trying to accomplish. Please reach out at betteryourbusy.com to schedule a FREE consultation to see if coaching is in your future.
References:
Iso-Ahola SE, Dotson CO. Psychological Momentum-A Key to Continued Success. Front Psychol. 2016 Aug 31;7:1328. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01328. PMID: 27630603; PMCID: PMC5006010
