The Power of Momentum

Getting started is the hardest part, so here's my first Substack post.

It’s so hard getting started. It’s the blank page. It’s the unknown. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been thinking about writing a book. Sometimes I consider characters for a novel, or I meet someone in real life I’d love to create a story around. Or I might think of a topic I have studied in depth and wonder what it would look like to compile my knowledge into a manuscript. But there’s no urgency there, no deadline. No one is waiting on this, or asking me for this. So it gets put off and put off. Forgotten.

But that delay also happens when projects could make an immediate, life-improving change! We’ve all had a job we hated… but the idea of working on our resume, reading through job ads, interviewing…it gets so overwhelming that we tell ourselves “other employers probably aren’t any better” or make excuses about why this particular moment in life is too stressful to take on such a big change. We find ourselves a year later, in the same place, coming up with yet more excuses for staying. Pushing it off to another day.

This topic of “starting is the hardest part” is especially appropriate, given this being my first foray into Substack. However, I understand the power of momentum and what lies ahead for me if I Just. Hit. Publish. Once you do it the first time, every time after that will get easier and easier. This is the power of momentum.

We certainly see a lack of it in the biggest corporations and at every level of government: they’re weighed down by bureaucracy, unable to make nimble moves or get the wheel turning. They’re often stuck in a dead stop. On the flip side, we can see and feel a ton of momentum from our most ambitious friends. I certainly make it a point to seek out those kinds of people to include in my inner and outer circles, because momentum is contagious.

Something else you can do? Join a community of ambitious go-getters. I facilitate calls every week for the Tom Woods School of Life, and my business and fitness calls are full of people TAKING ACTION. This is so valuable to the group as a whole, because everyone has a little social pressure to run with the wolves or leave… and those that stick around end up making exponential progress.

That’s just it: surround yourself with movers, shakers, and change makers. Curate your friend group based on your values and principles. Let them challenge you to new heights and do the same in return. You can’t help but to get going. Once you do, Momentum will carry you, but you still need to get started.

And finally: identify and remove demotivating things. If you’re starting a new way of eating, the first thing you do is throw out, give away or at least box up the “bad” foods in your pantry, right? The same thing applies to any aspect of your life. If you’ve got a naysaying friend, step back from that friendship. If your work is draining you of energy, establish boundaries like silencing notifications and leave the office by 5pm every day. If you need an hour every night for your project, communicate this need with your spouse and make sure they’re not only aware, but also supportive and respectful of that time.

So here’s your call to action: What’s the project you keep on the backburner? What’s the story you desperately need to write about? What side hustle do you want to start researching? Make today the day you stopped putting it off and started the roll of momentum. Make it happen now.