How to Build Momentum to Make Great Progress Toward Your Goal
By: Brian Kim - March 27, 2007
If you’ve ever watched a basketball game, you can pretty much tell which team has the momentum or if neither team has it all. The team who has the momentum gets that synergy going, they work well together, shots go in, and there’s a beautiful invisible flow where it becomes quite evident that the team is playing at the top of their game.
Similarly, there are times when you’re more productive, have great ideas, get great results, and move quickly toward the accomplishment of your goal thanks to the beauty of momentum.
But here’s the truth that nobody wants to spill on momentum.
It comes later on in the game.
Rarely will you see momentum built from the get go. Teams will be a bit jittery in the beginning but slowly settle in during the first half of the game and then the momentum starts to manifest.
The reason why so few people get to the stage where momentum starts to manifest is that a lot of people quit in the early stages of trying to achieve their goal and the most notorious types of people who do this are who I call “Goal hoppers”.
They can’t stick to one goal.
They work on one goal for a week, but then give up and attack another goal and another and another and another. They stop working on it because there’s no momentum and the reason why there’s no momentum?
It’s because momentum cannot be built from the get-go. It comes later on in the game.
There must be some groundwork laid down first. The foundation has to be built and that’s rule #1 of building momentum.
Going back to the basketball example, imagine if you will that the team had NO practice whatsoever, that it was just a bunch of people put together at the very last minute and put on the court to play the game. Will they ever get momentum going in the game? Chances are very very slim that they will.
However, if you pick the best possible players, work with them together to promote team unity, find their different strengths and maximize them, practice drills and special plays - all that goes on WAY BEFORE game time which accounts for the groundwork which then translates into momentum during the game. The drills, the plays, the endurance training, team signals, etc – all of that is the groundwork gets “planted” into the “momentum” column and momentum grows in the game as a result.
I like to use the analogy of planting seeds to show how momentum comes about. You do the work of planting the seeds and watering them for some time and nothing seems to be growing. Then all of a sudden, you see sprouts and you see the fruits of all your labors budding and then the ball gets rolling.
Roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Do the work you know that needs to get done. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they don’t have the foresight to see how laying down the groundwork helps create momentum in the future and I assure you, it does.
After the groundwork is laid, you’ll find that a “spark” will jumpstart the momentum. Basketball players will get a “feel” for the game and for the opponent so they can finally settle into a rhythm. Then a spark gets them going. That spark may be in the form of a slam dunk, a three pointer, a steal, a rejection etc. That spark really jumpstarts the fodder of groundwork and you get momentum going as a result.
To put these concepts of groundwork and spark together, let’s use an example of a person trying to lose weight to illustrate.
He does the groundwork: he signs up for a gym, goes there and works out, eats right, resists temptation and for a while, nothing seems to be happening. Sure he might lose a few pounds, but it doesn’t really show. This happens for some time and then a “spark” arrives. It may come in the form of having people come up and complimenting him for getting in shape and really noticing the weight loss.
That spark then ignites the “fodder” of groundwork and momentum starts building because he knows results are showing and that other people notice it as well, so that reinforces his drive to be more consistent with working out and eating right even more and the pounds begin to melt away like ice on a hot day.
The spark I’m talking about will come in a different form depending on what goal you’re trying to achieve. It may come in the form of a great idea, a compliment, inspiration or as I call it, secondary plans and actions in my book.
Then, the momentum really takes off and you build more groundwork to set up another spark and then momentum starts to go up on an even higher notch. Remember, objects in motion tend to stay in motion.
Two More Ways To Build Momentum
Take a Time Out
Coaches are notorious for calling time out when the other team is having a ton of momentum or when the coach’s team is beginning to get into a slump. Time outs take your mind off things, which are probably focused on the negative when you’re in a bad slump.
Watch a movie, clear your head, go out and have a blast. Do something completely different that will get your mind off your goal and what you’ll find is that you get re-energized or you may think of a new idea that can spark the momentum you were looking for in the first place.
MasterMind
Often you’ll find the home crowd is a big factor in games because they can cheer the team on and the team literally “feeds” off the electricity. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a live sporting event but when the announcer says “You can feel the electricity in the air” – he really means it. This is all the more reason to get a mastermind group going. It’s one of the best things you can do to build momentum. A mastermind can help build the groundwork more efficiently and can “spark” your momentum in the form of network contacts, resources, ideas, etc.
Bottom line: If the momentum hasn’t come yet, be patient. It WILL.
Lay the groundwork, wait for the spark, take a time out if it isn’t coming, mastermind and once that momentum comes, you’ll know it was because you were building toward it this entire time.
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3 Responses to “How to Build Momentum to Make Great Progress Toward Your Goal”
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March 29th, 2007 at
Great post! I write a blog on Mastermind Groups and made this blog one of the Mastermind links of the day!
Cheers!
Evan.
March 29th, 2007 at
Evan,
Thanks for the kind words and for the link.
I checked out your blog on Mastermind Groups - excellent advice indeed!
Thanks again and keep up the great work!
October 11th, 2007 at
Cool stuff!