Building momentum...

Is a lot like eating a chocolate egg!

Recently I’ve been pondering how we build momentum on projects, and how sometimes we get put off by how long and slow that process is. We start something, but then when it doesn’t come off immediately, we give up. If you’re anything like me you’re keen to get going and see results, and sometimes fall over your own feet to get on. But often building momentum and making progress isn’t like that. It’s slowly and diligently plodding towards a goal and keeping faith even when you can’t see the progress at all.

When we hear (or tell) a story of how success happened, we hear phrases like “that first year I was experimenting and learning, then the second year I really got going” or “it was tricky at first, but then I found my feet and really started seeing success”. As a narrative ark, that seems perfectly reasonable. But it’s a story that’s much easier to tell after the event; after we can see the successful outcome. When we’re in it though, in the before we could see the results time, it can be hard to keep faith.

It's running up to Easter, so all my thoughts have an eggy glow to them, and I’ve begun thinking about how building momentum is a bit like eating an Easter egg. Particularly one that’s a decent size, with thick chocolate. Before you begin there’s excitement, anticipation, and no doubt in your mind that this is going to be great. But then you try and take a first bite and somehow can’t quite make it work.

You might manage an initial couple of bites, but all your leaving is teeth marks along the surface of the egg. Perhaps you can hardly even tell you’ve tried. A lot like when you start a new routine, take on a new project or start working towards a new ambition and you’re plodding away without much feedback that you’re making progress.

After a few attempts, maybe you manage to bite through the egg. Or maybe you come up with a tool you can use – a hard surface you can bang it against! In a building momentum sense, maybe that’s the point we discover some other people who are trying to do the same thing or sign up to a class to get us started.  

Once you’ve got it started, it gets easier you can break off big eatable chunks. The momentum has built and you’re making big strides towards your goal.

But oh no! A new problem then arises. Now that you’ve got going, you’ve got to pace yourself. It’s easy to pull off big hunks of chocolate and munch them quickly. But if you’re not careful, you make yourself sick. And again, it’s a good analogy. We can get so caught up in a new project or aim that we’re excited about, we can forget to take time off to rest, or to do things we were already committed to, maybe things like spending time with friends and family. We can end up burnt out (or feeling a bit queasy from too much chocolate…).

Then before you know it, you’re done. And at that point hopefully you have satisfaction of a tasty egg that you’ve enjoyed and relished eating. Or indeed a project or experience that can look back on with pride and pleasure. Hopefully you’ve learnt lessons, and maybe you know what you’d do differently if you tried again. Perhaps you’d want a different flavour next time, to eat it more slowly or quickly, perhaps you’d share it with others or keep more to yourself.

And I suppose it’s all a bit like that isn’t it. We start off struggling to make a firm hold on the new thing we’re trying. Our initial attempts to get started can feel frustrating and difficult. But we must go through those stages in order to make progress, however small it may feel. Gradually, and then quite suddenly, it all takes off. And then rather than trying to build and sustain momentum, we’re having to pace ourselves, hold back and slow down.

And so, as you go into the Easter break, I hope you have some Easter treats to enjoy, but I also hope that you find patience and grace for yourself on the projects you’re struggling to build momentum with. And, that you find patience and grace for yourself if you’ve been eating your metaphorical eggs a little too quickly recently and could do with a break to regroup and reset!