What You Need to Do As Soon As Momentum Starts Fading
Do this if you're on the verge of giving up or switching things up again...
“I feel like this is working, but I’m not sure if it’s right for me.” — someone who’s about to self-sabotage.
Sometimes, when I work with someone, they start to see excellent results, and then they get in their head. Self-doubt creeps in when you least expect it, and you start to think of excuses. We’ve all been there before, just as we’re about to turn the corner finally. You think there has to be a better plan out there, or you should switch something up instead of staying on the course. Once the initial excitement wears off, it’s easy to get bored or distracted with something else or to start thinking about the next project.
Here’s what I want you to do whenever you’re about to abandon your plan because momentum is starting to slip.
“Henry Fonda was still throwing up before each stage performance, even when he was seventy-five. In other words, fear doesn't go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” — Steven Pressfield, “The War of Art.”
FOCUS ON ONE THING FOR NOW.
“Be like a postage stamp— stick to one thing until you get there.” — Josh Billings
The biggest problem for most of us is that we want to do too many things at once, so we end up doing nothing. When we see progress in one area, we start to think about all of the other things we should be doing.
When the initial excitement of a new project (workout routine, diet, business, etc.) starts to fade, and you feel momentum slipping away, it’s tempting to start thinking about something else you should be working on. You’re ready for something new and exciting.
You know what I’m talking about…
Your weight lifting plan is working, but you want to start running again.
You’re enjoying the new kick boxing gym, but you also want to get into yoga.
You also want to try the keto diet, but your friends are telling you that it’s time to count your macros.
Your new Instagram about your fitness journey is taking off, but you need a social media detox.
You want to do many things but can’t decide what to do, so you fluctuate between different plans and goals without ever seeing anything through.
It’s normal to want to do everything at once. When you first get into fitness, you’re going to want to do it all. You’ll want to try everything since you keep reading about so many different ideas online. However, you’ll never truly get any results until you follow through on one goal at a time (believe me, I hate to admit this).
SET ONE SPECIFIC GOAL, and don’t stop until you achieve it. Then you can move on to the next thing.
For example, I just recently added yoga to my schedule because I needed the recovery from playing soccer and training jiujitsu frequently. I didn’t start all three activities at once. I trained in BJJ for a decade before I got into soccer. After playing soccer for two years, I knew that my body needed some additional recovery.
This leads to one of the best quotes on the topic.
“Refuse almost everything. Do almost nothing. But the things you do, do them all the way.” — Derek Siver
Stop thinking about everything you need to do or all the things that can go wrong. You need to always be on a mission to finish one thing.
The obvious question remains: how do you remain focused on one goal?
The secret to not giving up is to always celebrate your progress
“Research has shown that of all forms of human motivation the most effective one is progress. Why? Because a small, concrete win creates momentum and affirms our faith in our further success.” — Greg Mckeown ,“Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.”
When momentum starts to slip and you feel like switching things up, try to remember how far you’ve come already. You want to get into the habit of celebrating your progress and enjoying the little wins along the way.
Here’s how can you do this:
Have a reward system (like a treat or a night out when you reach a certain accomplishment).
Stop comparing yourself to people who started years before you. Everyone has a different experience level.
Accept that all progress isn’t created equal. Sometimes sticking to a workout plan for 3 weeks is an accomplishment in itself even if you don’t see instant results.
Stop expecting transformations to occur overnight. If it was easy, then everyone would be doing it and it wouldn’t be that rewarding.
What’s your one thing right now?
Find your one thing, design your days and your environment around making this easy, and focus on progress over perfection.
Here are some examples:
Do ten pull-ups in a row.
Run a half-marathon by the spring.
Become more flexible through yoga.
Get back into soccer or martial arts.
Get good enough at kick boxing or BJJ so that you don’t always get beat up.
Lose 15lbs before your wedding.
Gain 15lbs before next summer.
You won’t be able to build momentum on 12 different goals simultaneously. You have enough going on in your life. The trick is to divide and conquer. Get good at one goal and then go after the next one. You can’t be working on so many different things at once.
Nobody’s saying that self-doubt won’t creep in or that you’re expected always to be focused on your main thing. This is just a reminder that giving up won’t speed up the process.
“It is not that we have too little time to do all the things we need to do , it is that we feel the need to do too many things in the time we have.” -- Gary Keller
For the record, this article is mainly a journal entry and note to self for me.