Momentum

Here we are halfway through the year! How did that happen?

I don’t know about you, but for me, this year is absolutely flying by!

How are things in your world?

Summertime is often an opportunity to think about slowing down a little, with long summer days and perhaps holidays on the horizon. It can also be a time to pause, take a breath and evaluate what we’ve achieved so far this year. It’s a great time to look back and see how far we’ve come.

It’s so easy to remain focused on where we’re going but equally valuable to stop and look in the rearview mirror to see where we’ve come from. If we don’t slow down or pause for a moment can we truly evaluate or value what we’ve achieved?

Recently, I uncovered a limiting belief. A belief that if I pause or stop I will halt the momentum that I’d created (something that I’d worked hard at creating) and that, once halted it would be difficult to get that momentum going again if I stopped. This led to me pushing through when I was feeling tired and I realised that I was not really allowing myself to fully stop.

It reminded me of when you push a small child on a swing. To begin with, it can be tough going to get the swing moving and if the child doesn’t yet know how to aid the process by moving their legs it can take quite a bit of energy to get it going. In contrast, once you achieve that momentum it takes much less energy and the swing propels itself with ease. You then only need to push a few times when the swing begins to slow down. Energy is most needed in starting the process.

This can be true of projects we start too. it can take much more energy to get things going and this can be where procrastination plays a part as we can feel overwhelmed at the outset, not knowing where to best direct our energy. Once we have established the way forward, we can then direct our energy more clearly and as we begin to take action towards our goal it’s possible to step into a state of flow as each action creates more momentum.

Writing this piece is a beautiful illustration of this! It’s been on my list of things to do for two weeks and it kept slipping to the bottom of the list as I didn’t have a clue about what I was going to write. As the deadline loomed I noticed that it created a little stress because I’m currently working on a much bigger project and felt like I needed to direct more of my time and energy to that. I was concerned that if I shifted my focus to writing this that I would lose momentum there. I decided to explore what was underpinning my experience and behaviour.

I realised when I used the framework that we teach at the foundational PSYCH-K® workshops, which takes you from where you are now, with the current challenge, to where you would like to be instead, that my beliefs around momentum were a key part of what was going on.

So I created a Goal Statement (belief) that I could muscle test and I went on to facilitate a PSYCH-K® Balance (change process). This programmed the new belief in my subconscious mind so that I no longer feared taking a break when I’m in the middle of a project.

My Goal Statement:-

‘It’s quick, easy and fun for me to establish momentum AND maintain it, even when I need to shift my focus to something else or take a break.’ 

Within minutes I had confirmation that the new belief was in place and I began to sit down and write this piece. I could have easily continued to push through or berate myself because I was unable to just sit down and focus on the task and continue through to completion. That’s the hard way, to push through regardless, embracing the negative mental chatter that can come with it, such as. ’ Others can manage to do it so why can’t I?’ The smarter way is to stop and get curious as to why we’re experiencing this!

I came across this quote recently and I love it.

“The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how we perceive it.”  unknown

These experiences in life are all gifts that allow us to grow, if we see them as such. Some of our smallest daily irritations can become invitations to change if we allow them to show us the way. We so often push through hoping that the next time things will be different!

“Our life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” Jim Rohn

So, my invitation to you is:

•        Allow yourself to take a break.

•        Be aware of daily irritations and what they are showing you.

•        Reflect on where you are so far this year with respect to your goals.

•        Take some time to see if there is any course correction needed. In other words,
where can you make a small change that allows you to move in the direction you want to go?

Small changes can make a huge difference and can allow you to move in the direction you want to go with more ease and grace. Creating a state of flow is an inside job, not something that happens to us. We all have that within us, it can be like tuning the dial on a radio and when we hit the right station it’s a lot less jarring to replace the static with music and we can listen to the music while enjoying the journey.

“The only limits in life are the ones we create in our own mind.”

Enjoy your summer!

With love

Sharon x