I wanted to share with you this very relevant and one of the oldest sports clichés which have to do with which team has the “momentum.” It’s funny, the team that’s winning always seems to have the momentum. And the team that’s losing doesn’t have any at all. The only problem with this analysis is that it’s categorically false.
There are two key reasons for this:
1) Let’s say a football team is marching down the field and shredding the opposing defense. Does this mean that the defense is incapable of drawing up a play to create a stop or a turnover? Nope.
The last play, or the last 20 plays, really have no bearing on the outcome of the next one. In other words, momentum can be stopped — or started — at any time.
2) Doesn’t the team that’s getting rolled have momentum, too? In a bad way? Yup. Momentum is the ultimate double-edged sword. It can work for you, and it can most certainly work against you. What does this have to do with the current state of your health and fitness?
Everything.
It’s important to remember that momentum comes from action and it also can come from inaction. So if you’re in a groove with consistent workouts, getting plenty of sleep, and prepping your healthy meals, you’ve got momentum.
And if you’re not, you also have momentum in the wrong direction. The good thing about momentum is that it can be perpetuated indefinitely if the actions that caused it to continue to happen.
This is also the bad thing about momentum because if you’re in a period of inaction (or negative actions), those, too, can be perpetuated and the momentum can be hard to stop. So if you’re in a groove with your workouts and nutrition, you already know the actions that created your momentum and it becomes easier to keep the ball rolling.
But I want you to know that if you’re in a rut — and in need of a fresh start or a reset — you have the ability to stop the negative momentum.
Solution: To use my football analogy, you have the ability to call a different play, execute it better, or both. You have the ability to make a new decision and take one action that will stop the momentum and turn the tide in your favor.
Just remember that regardless of which way the momentum is going for you at the moment, you have the ability to either keep it going, or change it, right now!
The choice is yours.
