Today I want to offer my summary and reflection on the concept of momentum introduced by one of my gals: Rachel Hollis. Backstory: she is doing a next90 day challenge where every week, her or her husband spend 30-60 minutes talking about a certain topic. This week’s topic was momentum and Rachel uses examples from health and fitness, but I want to reflect and summarize in terms of racial equality given the recent events.
To introduce this topic, Rachel talks about the difference between motivation and momentum. She claims that motivation is fleeting. Something that can go away just as quickly as it comes. So many of have motivation right now to advocate for change. In order to make real and lasting change, we also need momentum. Rachel states when you have momentum you “stay inside the rhythm of who you want to be”. This is directly applicable to the ways that we are supporting the black community and advocating for change. Many people have the motivation to do that right now because of George Floyd’s murder. The continuation of that is to stay in that – keep the momentum and rhythm so that this advocacy is not fleeting.
She elaborates on this by discussing the need for consistency when it comes to ensuring momentum. She stressing the importance of sustaining the initial excitement that we have to make a change. She perfectly says: “you have to will yourself to show up and do the thing again and again and again and again until the inertia of you pushing and pushing all of a sudden begins to take over”. That is when actions and behaviors become a habit where you can show up consistently for the change that you are working towards until you start to see traction. Of course this isn’t easy or glamorous – it takes sustained efforts, but it is what it takes to really see a difference in what we are working towards.
As we push and reach towards these changes, it is important to celebrate the victories along the way. These victories, as little as they seem are what compound and add up to the bigger results that we are striving for as long as we stay consistent with them. As we reach for these changes, Rachel quotes that “consistency says she showed up and put effort into forward movement”. The important take away from that is the forward movement because as we work towards these societal changes in many of the current systems, we have to remember to keep putting effort into that forward movement.
The last quote that I’m going to leave you with that I hope will transcend into a desire for you to continue this momentum to advocate and fight for the necessary reform is this:
“You’re just going to have to do it…. It sucks to get there – it’s hard to make change. It’s hard to pivot. It’s hard to create the life you want to live, but God is it worth it. It’s worth the effort… This is not easy for any of us, but it gets easier when you can start to get into this pattern. So start and stick and keep doing it and acknowledge your progress and make changes when you need to because the exponential growth that you can have when you get into this space and get your cadence – it’s magic”
As we continue to advocate and fight for equality and reform, let’s remember to do just that – continue. This motivation should not be fleeting. If we remain consistent and push for this every day, that is when we will see results and it will all be worth it. I am here to celebrate with you along the way and help provide support to keep the traction going.
If you found meaning in this message, seriously check out Rachel’s Next90 Challenge and listen to/watch any of the topics that resonate with you given what you are going through.
