Tuesday, October 14, 2014

How to gain momentum: 5 Tips

I'm pretty sure that most of you out there in internet land have lost your momentum, drive, mojo, will power or whatever you want to call it at some point in time.  You know the feeling:

  • You don't want to accomplish anything,
  • It's hard to get out of the bed and go to work (and heck they are paying you to show up)
  • You make excuses for everything
  • All you want to do is scroll mindlessly through Facebook, Instagram, snap chat or set your fantasy sport roster for the 100th time to keep your mind off of what you should be doing.

Does any of this sound familiar?  If it does... keep reading!  If it doesn't... Well you must be a unicorn or something not real or whatever.

The "Why" of losing motivation or momentum could be a billion things.  Everyone's situation in life is different.  Everyone is a special unique little snowflake.  But what all of these little snowflakes have in common is the ability to change their situation or circumstance. Or ,better yet, the power to change the way we think about our situation or circumstance.  Keep your situational change ability in mind as you read ahead.

I guess the big question looming is "Why" did I lose momentum or "How" did I lose momentum. Like I said earlier, it could be a billion reasons and those reasons do need to be explored.  BUUUUUT some folks get so consumed in the "Why and the How" that they never do anything to change their situation.  Being consumed with the W and H is what we like to call- the emotional rocking chair.  Don't get caught in the emotional rocking chair!  You may be rocking away, but you are not making any progress.

So how do you change your situation?  I guess is where the catchy title comes to play!!!

Tip 1- Positive Self Talk. 

Read this next sentence carefully, "Do not picture Brad Pitt on top of the Eiffel Tower wearing a pink bikini."  What just happened?  You pictured Brad Pitt sporting a pink bikini atop the Eiffel Tower, didn't you?  The words on this page became a thought, the thought then became an image and then a crooked smile popped on your face.  Your mind changes thoughts into images.  So what happens if you consistently have negative self talk?  "I can't do this.  I don't deserve change.  I don't want to change.  I am too busy."  In my opinion, if you think negatively, you will develop a negative outlook on life and you'll get caught in a different style of rocking chair:  The Negative Nancy Everything is Impossible Rocking Chair.  Be careful what type of thoughts you put into your head.  Those thoughts could very well be contributing to how you view your situation.

Tip 2- Help Someone else.

Ever heard the saying, "Tis better to give than to receive."?  Performing acts of kindness for a total stranger can put a smile on your face and on theirs.  Helping someone else sounds like a simple concept... So simple that there is no way it could work, right?  My thought is this:  In today's society we are consumed with, Wait!  Let me take a selfie!  We all have instagram, facebook, myspace (don't hate), iPhone, iWatch, and maybe an iLife.  It seems like everything has an inward focus.  By helping others it might just be possible to break the cycle of the current situation you are in and also put a smile on someone's face.

Tip 3-  Break Things Up.

Have a task that is blocking your way?  Does it seem insurmountable?  Is it just too much?  Answer this question, "How do you eat an elephant?"  Simple... One bite at a time.  Look at your huge task as a bunch of smaller task, right?  Nope not for me.  Looking at a lot of little stuff gives me anxiety.  Try breaking your huge task into 10min windows instead.  Literally set a timer for 10min and get to work! When the timer expires stop immediately.  If 10mins seems too long... make it shorter.  It is ok to stop.  The key issue is what?  YOU STARTED!  Positive thinking! #winning!

Tip 4-  Change your scenery.

You could literally change your scenery, like move to North Carolina or whatever, but how about looking at who you hang out with and what you do on a daily basis.  Do you socialize with loud and aggressive people that have negative habits and negative vocabulary?  Do you drink your sorrows away after work, and stumble to the couch day after day only to get up and do it all over again?  How's that working for ya?   Trying breaking the cycle!  Go to the gym instead of going to the bar!  Hang out with a new social group for a while.  Change your scenery or it will stay the same...

Tip 5-  Don't Trip.

A friend of mine once told me, "Don't trip about the future." Don't focus completely on the future is what he meant, I guess...  Couldn't agree more! So what happens if you future trip?  You will not be able to focus on the present.  Future thinking causes stress and won't allow us to stay engaged in the moment.  This mental chatter can make it difficult to maintain perspective and focus. If we’re too stressed about the future, we can’t make good decisions and solve problems and stay composed.  Stay focused and composed and build momentum!

Hopefully these tips can help lower stress levels, connect with the present moment, and create a more momentum. I hope some of this helps!

**Disclaimer**

I'm not a board psychologist.  I'm just a dude, disguised as a trainer, playing a psychologist in my spare time.  Really though, all I'm doing is making an observation.  I hope this can help someone.