Momentum Killers

Momentum is like the fuel that keeps your business engine running smoothly. But sometimes, things can come along and throw a wrench in the works. Ever felt like you're just spinning your wheels instead of moving forward? That's often due to momentum killers. These can be anything from complacency and negativity to lack of clarity and external distractions. Recognising and tackling these roadblocks is key to keeping your business on the right track. 

Before gaining serious momentum, be aware of potential momentum killers. Every path has its pitfalls, and you’re going to meet resistance along the way. Knowing how to identify and deal with problems as they arise is key to both gaining momentum and maintaining what you have already built. 

When times get tough, these are good reminders: 

1. Momentum’s enemies 

Complacency is the number one enemy of momentum. Moving forward, making progress, and achieving goals requires hard work. Identifying pain points, setting goals, making detailed plans, and taking action requires effort. This is why settling and staying comfortable can appear much more natural. Nothing is worse than dwelling on the things you should do, so maybe it’s time you stopped  ‘shoulding’ all over yourself. 

Culture is enemy number two. Your neighbours and co-workers may say they want to see you succeed and achieve, but they may not mean it! It is a harsh reality, but it is often more convenient for someone to hold you down than to help you up – this is especially true in the workplace. So, stop worrying about other  people’s opinions; let them bask in their complacency and envy as you succeed.

2. Momentum needs maintenance 

Momentum can mean the difference between a spectacular life and a mediocre one. It provides the jet fuel needed to reach your goals. If we don’t take steps to maintain it, we can lose momentum during challenging times. In our moments of suffering, it’s hard to remember that the world doesn’t just stop. During difficult situations, it’s okay to cry, scream, shout, swear, or even be silent – whatever you  need. It’s okay to feel a sense of uncertainty. If everything in life were sure and defined all the time, it’d be dull and miserable. You can’t feel the highs without also experiencing the lows.  Momentum is all about intention, habit, and balance. 

3. Missing out

FOMO (fear of missing out) and its cousin FOBO (fear of better options) kill momentum as we look around at all the things we think we should and could be doing, because everyone else is. But the next generation of  tailored-for-social-media acronyms is ‘JOMO’, or joy of missing out.  

As the antithesis of FOMO, it symbolises relief from the breathless and guilt-laden need to be perennially switched on and continually productive, which emerged in response to ‘hustle culture’ and other widely accepted models of ‘success’. JOMO means proudly living life in the slow lane and deriving pleasure from social exclusion. By intentionally taking a step back, shunning needless overexertion, and unshackling ourselves from what we ‘should’ be doing, fear is traded for joy. We also reclaim our most precious resource: time.  

4. Holding onto certainty 

The universe has an incredible way of counterbalancing energy.  Whenever you are down, be assured that it’s not permanent, because something amazingly uplifting is always around the corner if you look for it. Likewise, if you’re riding on a high, in a state of ego, you can guarantee the universe will throw something at you to bring you back down. It’s all about maintaining a universal equilibrium. Once you surrender to a power more significant than you, you will realise that no person or event ever manifests in your life by accident, and everything happens for a reason. Clichéd but true.  

Our most prominent critics are our most outstanding teachers.  Our most challenging times pose our most meaningful accomplishments. In the wise words of Dr John Demartini, “Once you see things ‘on the way’ instead of ‘in the way’, you’re set free of the bondage and burden of incomplete and one-sided emotional perspectives.”

At the end of it all, the greatest gift we have is our potential. Can you think of anything more horrifying than taking your last breath in this life, with that potential still locked away inside you because you were too scared of not living up to the expectations of others? It’s up to you to decide how, when, and why you will get your dream life and build the momentum to get there.