the power of momentum

Summary

physics fact most people forget. static friction is bigger than kinetic friction. starting a thing is always harder than continuing it.

I used to be all or nothing. if I couldn’t do the full workout, I skipped it. if I couldn’t write the full chapter, I wrote nothing. one bad week and the whole habit was gone.

the shift was manufacturing tiny wins so I never came to a full stop. five minute workout instead of skipping. one paragraph instead of no chapter. one outline instead of no content.

in business it looks like templates, half built drafts, and a list of ideas that aren’t polished. when the week gets crazy I still ship something small. ugly progress beats a clean stop every time. once you’re moving, the next push is way cheaper than the first one.

Transcript

introduction to the power of momentum in daily activities

The most impactful business is the business that genuinely improves another human, a better human business. And to grow a business like this, you have to continually improve yourself. This podcast is a documentation of that thesis, scaling businesses and also personal growth. My goal is for you to shortcut this journey. So if you’re ready to try hard, subscribe, if you like what you’re hearing, please share and enjoy. Real quick question, are you going to work out today and what if you get busy or what if you feel like you don’t have the time or what if something else pops up?

Are you still going to work out today or going to get that done? This is the better human business podcast. I’m Jerred Moon and I really want to dive into the power of momentum and small wins. So when we just look at physics now, don’t shut off the podcast because I’m talking about physics. Very simple here. It’s easier to get something moving when it is sitting still than to keep it moving once it’s already going. And that’s because when an object is at rest, you have to push harder to get it started.

It’s a legitimate, legitimate thing. It’s called static friction. But when it’s already moving, you only have to push a little to keep it going because there’s less friction and that’s called kinetic friction. These are actual principles in physics, laws of physics, and they apply to human nature just the same. You have to manufacture small wins in your life. This can be in fitness, in business. It does not matter. But it did take me a long time to learn this.

explanation of static and kinetic friction as it applies to productivity

I’m someone who has kind of this all or nothing mentality and it has served me a great deal in a lot of ways. But as my life has become more full, packed, you know, the schedule has gotten tighter, it has not served me as much. And I’ve had to let a lot of that go. This all or nothing mentality, I’ve really had to work on letting it go. Because you know, example, say I’m training for a specific race or an event or something like that.

I’ll have a training calendar, something that I need to stick to if I want to hit my goals. And if a training session is a 90 minute training session and that’s what’s required. Well in the all or nothing mentality, if I did not plan appropriately and it looks like I’m not going to be able to get the workout done that day because again, I didn’t plan. That’s the only real reason things don’t get done. I didn’t plan.

the benefits of small wins in maintaining momentum

And then I’m like, okay, well I don’t have an hour and a half gap now anywhere in the day to where I can actually get this done. So screw it. I just won’t do it at all. And I’m sure that you have things like that in your life as well. And what I’ve learned and you know, I don’t enjoy, but do a lot more now is just get something done, right? And it’s not so much the training that might be required.

It’s not what I need to do or want to do. It’s just getting something done because what I’ve realized is that momentum is more powerful than stagnation and momentum keeps me going and keeps me motivated for the next day. So going back to a training example, if I wanted to train for 90 minutes today and I just did not have the time again due to poor planning, typically this is only happening because of poor planning. Not really an excuse for any of you listening out there.

practical tips for integrating momentum into your daily routine

You just didn’t plan appropriately if you’re not getting something done. And so I can’t do that hour and a half training session. What if I do 10 sets of 10 of the kettlebell swing or the pull-ups? And it’s just 10, 15 minutes and then I’m done. That’s all I did for the day. It’s not even the training that was required. It’s just what I got done, right? But the big picture is I am keeping the momentum.

I’m keeping myself going. I’m keeping myself motivated. Hey, I got something done. I checked that box and this only gets tougher and tougher. Now you apply this to your business. You have to manufacture small wins in your business. There might be the perfect way to do everything in your business, how you send the newsletter, marketing emails, marketing connections, networking with people, you know, whatever the case is running ads, there is always going to be the perfect version of that.

how to apply these principles in business for continuous improvement

The newsletter, I always want it to be a thousand words or the networking. I want to, I want to network with five people per week, or I want to spend this much on ads and have this, this many ads going. Not everything’s always going to work out perfectly because we can’t always plan perfectly and we can’t always plan for the unexpected, but getting something done, manufacturing that small win, going down to the smallest level of like, okay, well, what can I do to keep momentum?

And that’s the question I’ve started asking myself a lot more over the last year or two that I would like to propose to you to start asking yourself as opposed to what do I need to get done? Because what you need to get done might be something really big and you might not have the time for it. And so ask yourself instead, what do I need to do to keep my momentum? If you’re doing something in marketing with writing emails, like, Hey, can I just create a template for this today or write down five or six ideas?

closing thoughts on the importance of mindset in sustaining momentum

It’s making momentum and progress in that area and it is massive because when you stop something altogether, now you’re going back to static friction. And even though this is more about like moving objects, like rolling a ball on the ground, kinetic friction and static friction, you and I both know it’s 100 percent true, right? When you haven’t worked out in a while, there’s static friction to get going again. But when you’ve been working out and you’re hit like the last 14 days straight, day 15 is a lot easier.

It’s kinetic friction. There’s still some resistance. There’s still like some things that you have to work against, but they’re a lot easier to work against once you’re on a streak, once you have things going and you really need to prioritize these things. This is something I’ve been talking to so many people about as I’ve been asking the questions that I ask in all of my team meetings across multiple different companies. I ask. What are you reading?

How many times did you train? And then I ask for a personal and professional win. And what I’ll notice or have noticed when I’m asking not just my team, but now other people who I consult for, I’m like, hey, how many times did you train over the last week? And I’m starting to get a lot of crickets in that answer. Maybe it’s one, maybe it’s zero. And it’s happening more frequent. And I’m like, why is that happening?

And they talk about getting busy again, poor planning. All these things happen. I get it. What I do get to a certain point is getting busy and wanting to work on the business. But what I don’t get is not exercising. So I’ve been an entrepreneur since 2011. I’ve been through some of the most difficult times, you know, financially and stress, family, all these things I’ve been through it all. And I’ve always found. Time for fitness. And I’m not trying to say, oh, look at me, I’m perfect.

But it’s just something that I needed. I really I can’t live without it. It’s not a it’s not a negotiable for me. It’s not something that I can take off my calendar for two weeks and feel OK. I feel awful. I’ll act awful. I’ll be awful to everyone around me if I don’t find that time to exercise. And maybe you’re not that person. Maybe it’s not as much of a requirement for you, but there’s no like comeback story.

If you’re just always doing it right, you don’t want to have to have a comeback story. You really don’t want that. You don’t want to come back story in business or come back story in fitness. You’d rather just move that needle up to the right continuously as much as you can. Right. That’s what you want. And that’s what you should strive for. And you don’t get there by always being perfect and having the all or nothing mentality and putting everything on a pedestal.

The only way that you actually get there is through the power of momentum manufacturing these small wins. So the only thing I have for you today is to keep pushing forward, keep pushing yourself forward, but maybe not pushing yourself forward as hard or as large or as big as you would want. Just asking yourself that one question. How can I keep momentum in this category of my life or my business? What is the smallest possible action that’s going to keep momentum going forward today?

Keep pushing. Try harder.