Momentum is everything.
I’ve decided to embark on another endurance challenge with the 24/220 Katy Trail Ride. I’m planning to ride all of it in under 24 hours. It’ll be a reminder of how much I can accomplish in a single day.
Starting to train for these always goes the same way. Even doing this first week of pedaling for an hour a day is a struggle for my attention, but I know from experience the hours get much easier next week, then even more easier the following weeks. My new normal begins to incorporate the changes and daily habits, even to the point where I need to ride as part of my day.
There is always a 10x effort in starting week one. It’s new, and your body and mind want the same. It doesn’t want to be challenged. It’s easy to do the same, usual thing that you’re comfortable with. You will have to break this momentum of whatever your current habits are. Like Superman stopping a train, it pushes him back before he can change the direction on it.
This push back is the hardest part. It's when the doubt creeps in. It’s when you’ll lie to yourself and say that “another thing didn’t work.”
Dig your heels in and commit to your goals and the person you want to be. This goes the same for awareness, self help, mediation, breathwork, mobility, building your business, and changing patterns in your relationships and emotions. All of it can be changed but it takes consistent effort to build the new momentum to the direction you want.
But like any cartoon snowball rampaging down a hill, this new direction will gain as much momentum as the one you think owns you now.
It’s taken years to build it all. Just like learning to throw for me started in middle school and wasn’t optimized until I was 28. But I kept finding momentum to get better. You can do the same. It’s never going to be easy so you may as well invest that energy into your life.
Build momentum toward where you want. Don’t just wait for life to steer you off course.
