Momentum: How to grab it.
It's kind of funny how people use Mondays as a kind of new beginning. If you want to start something it helps to have a real starting point, too. You don't necessarily have to wait for January 1, which is a starting point for many people. You have lots of different starting points
Mondays are the fresh start of a new week. So 52 times a year , you can start something new that gives you a natural sense of momentum.
The beginning of a vacation or the end of a vacation can also be a good starting point. Just consider how often you have a vacation and how often this then gives you a starting point.
Your birthday or the birthday of loved ones of yours.
Then there are certain holidays.
So you have many different points to have natural momentum.
Maybe you’ve heard this before: “I’ll start after the weekend.” That doesn’t really mean much, but you do need to take advantage of that natural momentum when the time is right.
Of course, there also needs to be (obviously) a step-by-step plan. How are you going to tackle something? Most plans fail because there is no plan.
Just “exercising more” isn’t a plan. A plan is to go to the gym on Monday at 8:30 p.m., sign up for a membership, and have a trainer guide you for the first few weeks. That way, you have a few firm commitments you have to keep, so that—thanks to your self-awareness —you know you’ll stick with it instead of ending up back on the couch.
So that natural momentum is there, like Monday. But grab that momentum with a good plan.
A good plan works even on a Tuesday, but that natural momentum can give you just that extra spark to find the energy to carry it out.
So take advantage of that 😊.
How do you tackle it?
Most people use goals that are too big. These want to be somewhere already right away. For example, I am the top crossfitter who deadlifts 240 pounds, who is super fit and who can also run a marathon and has 7th dan aikido.
That's very nice, but where am I at right now? I'm nowhere near there yet.
So what can I do now with small steps so that I can move in that direction.
Then I have to crossfit anyway. I do that a few times a week.
If you really have specific goals, like with deadlifts, then you need to start deadlifting. Or you should ask your trainer to help you incorporate deadlifts into your routine more often so you can break your personal record faster.
Those are slightly smaller goals and more concrete points you can get started with.
Imagine you are completely at 0 and want to become a good crossfitter, a good first step is to go there.
This sounds very simple, but you might find it scary. Then you see all those people...
The first time I found it quite scary if I'm completely honest. But I had an appointment and of course you don't let yourself be known. Then you see all these bare-chested men slinging weights and loud music. Then I come in there like a dickweed who thinks he's fit.
But the outside looked very different to me "Yeah, we're gonna ff this."
Well, it used to be hell on earth, but now it’s not scary anymore. Now it’s the comfort zone. It was just a little nerve-wracking at first, though.
Makes sense in itself, everything you do for the first time is a little scary and exciting. But somewhere you're going to take a first step.
Make the first step smaller until you can take it
If going there is too big a first step, you can also take another first step.
Like just looking up on the Internet what's near you. Or watching videos on a video site of people who think it's really cool. So you collect the positives of something you like.
If you want to play the piano, you might first have to look for a key-board on marketplace or some such site. Then that's the first step.
Then on a Monday you can grab that natural momentum to start doing something new, but keep it small. That way you can do something every day, just look something up in the morning and read up or do something in the evening.
Depending on your goal, you can watch and engage with it. Because that will ensure you keep the momentum going. Then you don't have to go to the gym 6 times a week, because most people can't manage that, but maybe you are one of those people.
You're usually lucky to get 2 saves a week. So then you can already be happy.
It's necessary, too, that exercise, and you don't necessarily have to go to the gym, but go for a walk, go for a run, go outside. Go do something.
Especially at this time (corona time), it is important to take a nice walk outside or get some exercise.
That way, you’re also working on your overall well-being. You can also listen to a podcast—either at home or while you’re out for a walk. Sometimes, though, you might just want to walk in silence.
But what's important is that even when you're not feeling quite 100%, work with your body. Take a cold shower, for example. You'll find that you'll be more clear-headed again.
It's intense for a while because you're going out of your comfort zone, but it helps.
So take advantage of this and grab your momentum to start doing something. Also listen to this podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/195236/4177559-pak-je-momentum?play=true
People who want something from you also use this technique
Making that smaller the first step is also a strategy other people use to create momentum so that people more easily conform to behavior or an action that is not accepted at once[1].
For example, if someone says to you, "I want you to ring the doorbell of 10 people and ask how they're doing." You probably say no.
But then when someone says, "I want you to talk to someone on the street and ask how they're doing." Is already much more likely to say yes.
Then the request can go one step further and further until eventually you have no problem ringing the doorbell of 10 people and asking how they are doing.
This is momentum for someone else's goal, but so you can just as easily use that technique for your own goals.
Momentum in recovery from illness
Other goals related to your health often come with rehabilitation, for example. Research shows that having goals can also help you experience daily momentum in the steps you take toward regaining good health[2].
So basically what you see is that setting goals and sub-goals gives you a sense of momentum when you achieve them. It doesn't matter if it's getting fitter, mastering a skill, your personal development or health.
Goals let you experience momentum.
Help in experiencing momentum
Would you also like to experience momentum but don't know where to start each Monday? Then hypnosis can help you find what you want to develop and come up with a plan with sub-goals.
This can be done, for example, with an exercise where you visualize where you will be in a year and how you got there. This is an advanced technique, though.
Do you tend to procrastinate or feel anxious about taking the first step toward something you really want? If so, regression therapy might be just the technique to help you.
In this case, you go back to the moment in your life where procrastination started or where you decided somewhere that that goal is not achievable for you after all. Then you start doing something with that moment in your mind, with the help of a hypnotherapist, which changes your interpretation of the moment. This usually changes the unconscious belief as well. As a result, it suddenly becomes a lot easier to take that first step.
Want to learn more about hypnosis and what you can do with it? Then come to the free online master class on hypnosis.
Or sign up for one of our courses to get started with the techniques mentioned above. It’s a great way to help yourself—or others.
[1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1901/jaba.1996.29-535
[2] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09638288.2013.825653