Press Reset

-by Matt Leedham

Have you ever noticed that the decisions you make tend to have momentum? Sometimes things "come in three's," or you can just get on a roll, right?

When I ask this, most people assume I mean positive momentum. Meaning, good decisions tend to lead to other good decisions. This is true.

But the inverse is also true. Negative momentum exists as well. Poor decisions can lead to more poor decisions. If unchecked, this can snowball into a poor choices over time and lead to a poor lifestyle.

Jaime often gives a great example that a lot of us, both male and female, struggle with. Most of us are on a quest to have a healthy diet. What happens when you indulge and succumb to temptation? What happens when you go out to dinner for a friend’s birthday and don’t turn down the ‘death by chocolate’ piece of cake?

It’s easy to tell yourself, “ah, I’ve already screwed up my diet today, what’s another piece of cake…or glass of wine…or…?” And before you know it, one poor decision leads to another and by the end of the week, your diet is in the trashcan and you’re just operating at the whim of your temptations.

Same thing goes for drinking alcohol. If you have one too many at night, what does your breakfast tend to look like the next morning? If you’re anything like me, it’s fried! That’s right, anything that’s been sitting in oil in a frying pan all of a sudden has a great, big, blinking billboard on it saying “EAT ME!”

Last example that I see all too often: you decide to not step out of your comfort zone and apply for that promotion. Or maybe you talk yourself out of approaching that attractive guy or girl. These little decisions, which may be well justified in your mind, can sometimes add up and create an inner culture of defeat. Over time, it can affect your confidence.

This isn’t just a week-to-week issue. I’ve met people that have built up this negative momentum over years. You can imagine how ingrained this pattern of decision making can be. How they’ve now convinced themselves that they can’t make other choices. That they’re not FULLY in control.

The key to avoiding this negative momentum is to press the reset button. It’s to put the breaks on the whole decision making pattern you’ve started to adopt, and realize 2 truths:

1. There IS a reset button…all you have to do is push it.
2. You DO have a choice…you can push it, or you can choose not to.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with a few life/executive coaches over the years, and this is one of the more powerful benefits. That is, a) they can often recognize the negative momentum going on in your life, b) inform you that a reset button exists, and c) challenge you to push it.

So, what do you think? Are you ready to take control and reverse any negative momentum in your life? Are you ready to push the reset button?

Get a Grip!

-by Matt Leedham

We are entering the 3^rd week of 2011. How are your goals or resolutions for the New Year coming along?

This is the make it or break week for many goal-setters. Research by Dr. Maxwell Maltz indicates that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. What this means is that if you have been consistent from January 1^st, and you keep going for another week, you will have engaged in a new routine that will propel you forward for weeks to come. And in my personal experience, it’s after three weeks that you begin to see results, which is its own greatest motivator.

Get a grip on 2011! Grab it before it slips away. Stay focused on what you planned to do. Here are a few tips to keep you on track:

Recommit to your goals – many times, when we first set goals, we do so in an excited state – one filled with optimism and enthusiasm. After a few weeks, we can lose that feeling, and with it, momentum. Take a half-day or morning to recommit to your goals and get excited about them again. Go somewhere beautiful or inspiring and choose to re-engage.

Visualize success – start with the end in mind. If you’re like me, the end looks pretty darn good! Start there by visualizing success. Once you’ve accepted this, the outcome is no longer in question. It simply becomes something you must do.

Review your goals regularly (e.g. every morning) – writing down and reviewing your goals has an incredible effect on your subconscious mind. You will more clearly see opportunities and unknowingly make decisions that put you closer to achievement.

Phone a friend – ask for help. Working with a friend on a goal will not only help you stay accountable to your plans and push you toward higher levels achievement, but it may just bring the two of you closer together.

Try something new – shake things up! My friend let me borrow the P90X program on DVD recently. Their methodology is all about “muscle confusion,” which means doing a variety of different exercises each day so that the body does not adapt and plateau. Sometimes you can “plateau” on a goal and things become stagnant. Shake things up and try something new to reinvigorate yourself.

Stay focused in 2011 and make it a great year! Be in touch with questions as you achieve great things.

Momentum & Inertia

- by Matt Leedham

As a child, I can remember riding my little BMX bicycle with pads on the handle bar and cross bar. I would run out of the house, pick it up off the driveway and go shooting off into the neighborhood to join my friends. My favorite part was getting started. I’d put the right pedal as high as it would go on its rotation and stand straight up on it so that I was well above the bike. My weight would push the pedal down quickly, and I would get my first jolt of movement.

Once I got moving though, it seemed much easier to increase my speed or just let my bike carry me down the road without much effort at all. Why is that?

The law of inertia states that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion – that’s why it takes a little extra effort to get started. But once momentum sets it, you’re on your way!

What’s true for bicycles, cars, trains, and planes is also true for motivation, confidence, achievement, and happiness.

“Momentum fuels motivation. It keeps you going” writes Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, founders of 37 Signals. They’re referring to employee motivation in their book Rework. But the same is true for personal goal setting and achievement.

The key to momentum and overcoming the law of inertia (while at rest) in our personal lives is small wins.

Small wins help you see your progress and fuel the fire to keep going. When setting big, aggressive personal goals, break them down into bite-size chunks by creating:

1. Achievable wins along the way that serve as signposts and milestones indicating your progression toward success,

2. Regular “pulse checks” with yourself to know that you are progressing as planned or need to tweak your path, and

3. A very specific action plan that you can work on today, checking things off as you go.

And there is one more step that is absolutely critical to keep the momentum going. You must celebrate the small wins!

Tell your friends and family, treat yourself to something you enjoy, or just pat yourself of the back and be proud that you are making progress!