The Importance of Momentum: What Two Weeks Off Sick Taught Me
A few weeks ago, my partner and I were knocked flat by a virus, which we almost certainly caught from the kids. It put me in bed for a couple of days and then took my energy for two weeks. While I was ill, my routine fell apart one small piece at a time. The school run on foot was replaced by the car. My healthy lunches and dinners became whatever was quick and easy. I took sick days off work, and my weekly gym and run sessions went on hold.
When my energy finally returned and I was able to pick up my schedule again, I did not want to. It was as if two weeks off sick was preferable, to both my mind and my body. That caught me off guard, because I know I am better with routine and structure in my life. So why was I so reluctant to go back to it?
The answer, I realised, was momentum.
Momentum is what helps me do the things I don't want to do and I had lost it.
I had felt its power over the summer. I wanted to see if I could train five days a week: three gym sessions and two runs, Monday to Friday. I went even when I did not feel like it, week in, week out. As I got stronger and fitter, each session became less of a grind and more just something I did. The momentum I had built was pushing me through the week. Yet, after my illness I had no momentum and every physical activity became an arduous task.
The first Monday after I recovered, getting out of bed was a chore because I knew exactly what was waiting for me: the cold walk to the gym and then the pain of lifting. I tried to find a reason not to go but I couldn't find one that I genuinely believed. I was over my illness, it was Monday, and Monday is gym day. They were the facts even though I could feel the resistance in my mind and my body. I felt heavy and with little strength. But I also knew what was at stake. If I skipped that session, I would probably find it almost impossible to go to the second or third workouts. To get myself to the gym, I accepted that I would train at about 75% of my max so I could ease back in. That helped. Getting the first and second sessions out of the way kick-started my schedule, and I can sense the momentum returning.
What I took from it
This episode showed me that momentum is what keeps me on track. The more I do something, the easier it gets, because it becomes familiar. The gym stops being a decision and turns into what I do on a Monday. Break that run for two weeks and the familiarity fades.
It applies well beyond training. Writing a book, chores, work: anything I'm not keen on gets easier once I'm in the rhythm of it, and harder the longer I leave it.
Looking back, I can see how momentum helped me question my relationship with alcohol. Each day I stayed away from it made the next one a little easier, and the more time I spent away from it, the more of that time I used for other things. Training, eating better, writing. Those things fed each other, and that momentum kept me on the path.
So I now try to protect my momentum, even if it's only a few minutes a day. And if I have lost it, I do not wait until I feel ready. I start small, ease back in and keep repeating it. Each time makes the next one easier.
If you are looking for a small place to start, the Seven-Day Abstinence Challenge on Pendulum of Change is a low-pressure way to build some momentum of your own.
