Monday, December 28, 2009

Rules of motion....

Why is it so hard for us as people to get started doing things? Why is procrastination and stagnation so easy in our personal, emotional, business and spiritual lives? The answer lies in that old law written by Newton, a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force. Friction and drag act against moving objects, slowing them down unless said moving object is generating enough force to counteract those influences. If a car runs out of gas to run the engine, the car slows down as drag and gravity overcome it's inertia. If the car is sitting in park, it stays there until the engine is started, which directs force to the wheels, which generate inertia, moving the car forward.

Why the physics lesson? Because if we read the good self-improvement books and good Christian living books and good salesmanship books, we see the same principle applies to our lives. When we are moving, it is easier to keep moving. If we stop, it takes more energy to start again than it would have to simply keep moving. The sales analogy works well here. It is much easier to get up Thursday to make your cold calls if you got up Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to make those cold calls. It is much easier to walk into that fifth new business of the day if it is the fifth one, not the first one. Momentum is a key to success, whether it is in sales, writing, housework, or prayer life.

Why is momentum so difficult to maintain for us? Because it takes more energy. That's where the "body at rest tends to stay at rest" part comes in. Procrastination and excuses are much easier to come up with than that energy to just do it. There are a million distractions just waiting for us out there, which is where purposefullness and planning come into play, another weak area for so many of us. That is a whole 'nother can of worms though, and definately a speech in and of itself.

W. Clement Stone said "If there is nothing to lose and much to gain, by all means TRY!" When we start talking about our own positive activites, again, whether they be business, personal, emotional or spiritual, there is nothing to lose by trying. Trying is the start of that momentum, and there is definately much to gain in that momentum.

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