The importance of momentum

January 6, 2010 – 11:36 am

Momentum is one of the most underrated pieces of success.  The reason is simple:

With momentum, it is difficult to stop.  Without momentum, it is difficult to start.

Think about it.  You know people that run every day, mostly because they run every day.  It’s just the way it is…they have momentum.  It wouldn’t feel right to suddenly stop that behavior.

So, how do you build momentum?

By keeping things small to start.  Ensure victories early.  Increase difficulty slowly and steadily….and always be aware of your momentum.

The most common thing people do is set lofty goals from a resting start.  That’s a big problem, because even if you are in fact on track to reach the goal after an initial push, it still feels just as far away as it did in the beginning.   You have no momentum, and you’re likely to quit.

Instead, break your grand vision into small battles.  Start easy, but on the proper trajectory.  Get a victory every single day.

Remember, there is no time limit.

This goes for anything.  Trading, entrepreneurship, poker, dating, whatever.

The more you win, the more you win.

So…..win.

p.s.   Momentum is a double-edged sword.  That’s why you will feel more “in shape” after 3 days of working out than a world-class athlete will feel after 3 days of slacking off and stuffing his face.  AS SOON AS you feel momentum swinging in a negative way, STOP.  Start over, and get a few small wins going right away.

  • Good post.
  • something i created at our startup (which is 4 guys working out of 3 different places around NYC) is a "momentum" email thread.

    since we don't have an office, it's easy to get disconnected. we use the momentum thread to update each other on every significant victory - signing new clients, progress with investors, development updates - it's the stuff that isn't really worth a phone call or a separate email, but is worth mentioning. [i haven't used Yammer, though i suppose this is similar].

    point is, all those little victories add up. momentum doesn't happen with one push, it's every little push along the way that gets you speeding 'high and to the right.'

    see also: Good to Great by Jim Collins
  • Love the momentum thread!  Awesome.  Would love to meetup next time in the city.

    Collins lost me at fannie mae :/

    Good read tho
  • Haha... still, a good book for entrepreneurs in terms of framework

    It'd be great to meet up sometime. Want to email me reece [at] goOvertime
    [.] com and we can set something up?
  • @andyswan, not trying to brown nose here, but honestly one of the best, most direct blog posts I've read in months. Well done sir. I'll be applying this to challenges for years to come...
  • Well said.. especially "with momentum it's difficult to stop" ; it's what many forget while trading. The laws of physics are always at work & present in everything we do.
  • Yes.  It's all energy and matter.  Don't complicate it!
  • Also, there is no speed limit:

    http://sivers.org/kimo
  • Excellent. Just excellent.
  • stringsn88keys
    "Get a victory every single day." -- Awesome.

    That's how I chose to come back from a running injury. I decided that I couldn't hit my big goals if I couldn't accomplish the simple goal of being able to run every day. I started small, and ran every day for 192 days, stretching myself a little more until running was the rule and resting was an uncomfortable exception.

    Now, on to applying it to the rest of life...
  • That's awesome
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