When Momentum Takes a Break, Stay Calm and Acknowledge Where You’re At

When we start new jobs, new projects and new habits that are exciting to us, we have a lot of energy moving in our favor. We are pushed forward in the right direction. It can feel like we have the wind at our back. But at some point in the first days and weeks, our momentum will stall and slow us down. It happens to everyone! And it makes sense that it does.

We have to keep ourselves afloat in many ways when we start something new. If we start a new job, we still have to manage our personal calendars, get groceries, manage our time and make room for tiny (and big) shifts in our routines and finances. Not to mention, we have to learn the language of the new team and company. Our brains go into overdrive as we find a new pocket of comfort in the discomfort of new.

Let’s remember how exhausting that can be!

Not only are our brains taking in new bits of information all the time, but our bodies are also learning to adapt to new movements too.

Then, the voices in our heads talk loudly in an attempt to keep us moving forward or to settle back into what is comfortable. It is so hard to follow the voices forward when the voices to stay put are just as loud.

In these moments, we are faced with the challenge of finding comfort in the discomfort. That is a sweet place to be! And it is so hard to be there.

We love comfort. Things seem to be easier there. But most things that are comfortable now were uncomfortable for at least a moment before they were comfortable.

When we move homes, we are uprooted — moving around in the discomfort of new spaces, places and routines. Yet we move in the comfort of anticipation and knowing that we will settle in eventually.

We don’t want to pack and move boxes only to unpack them again. The uplift is incredible to move. Yet we do it. Maybe because we need to but also because we believe that comfort is just a few boxes away.

Running is a lot like moving — just on a truncated version. At the start of any run, it can feel annoying and frustrating — like packing boxes, moving them then unpacking them. But over time, we warm up and start to feel better — like when we start to put items in their new places inside a new home.

Then we end the run, and we feel better than we did before — just like that first night that we feel like we can exhale in our new place. Lay our heads down and truly rest in the latest piece of our identity that we have.

How to Build Momentum when We Get Stuck

Lean into patience and progress

I hit a few mental walls in the last 14 days while adapting to a new environment at home, a new job, personal finance adjustments and feelings of being insignificant. It took some time, but I was able to find a new narrative to best support my pivot into a healthier place.

How did I do it? With patience and progress. Taking it one step at time. There is always a running metaphor ready to be used and this one seems to come back often!

In changing environments, I took it day by day as I got familiar with the spaces and cultures.

In personal finances, I looked at the big picture of my budget and financial goals to know what micro-changes to make little by little week by week.

In the feelings of insignificance, I explored what made me feel that way. It turned out to be something entirely out of my control: the affluent culture in parts of San Diego. I couldn’t afford to live a certain lifestyle and felt like a misfit as a result. By going to places in San Diego that bring me happiness one by one, I started to remember the pockets of places that I do belong.

Each of these efforts elevated me up into a brighter space of self-acceptance, empowerment and joy.

I did not run much during that period even though I love to run daily if I can. How did I feel about that? A little down on myself but also incredibly kind to myself. I knew that I would run again when my mental, physical and emotional health rebounded. I allowed that period to go wherever it needed to go to position me to experience success later. And it worked.

Patience can be had within progress. And progress within patience. How are you doing with either or both?

We have a choice to keep our spirits up when momentum slows. And we have a choice to recognize that with change comes periods of discomfort, simply put. In these moments, stay kind to yourself.