Maintaining Momentum and Recovering When It's Lost
Momentum is everything—especially in business, but normal life too. It's a concept that's difficult to describe and not always tangible. True momentum isn't necessarily about consecutive wins; sometimes it's simply having the awareness to move forward during a loss and feeling confident about that decision afterward. Even in chaos, momentum means finding some movement forward every day. It's deeply psychological. Much of your daily effort should focus on protecting both your momentum and your mental state to prevent slowing down. ## Lessons from Gaming My first experience with momentum came from playing John Madden football with friends. When your opponent scored, they'd celebrate and rub it in—a humiliating, frustrating moment watching them win, celebrate, and laugh at your expense. This was part of the game. You needed resilience, knowing you'd have another opportunity to play and potentially come back. If you let this psychological warfare affect you, you'd lose your ability to compete effectively. But with patience and resilience, you could compartmentalize these mental attacks and live to fight another day. ## Business Parallels Business operates similarly. You need patience and willingness to fight through losses to maintain momentum and prevent falling further behind. ## Recovering Lost Momentum We all make mistakes and lose momentum. When this happens, one of the most effective recovery strategies isn't to immediately acknowledge the loss and create massive plans to compensate. This approach to recovery can become overwhelming. When we've fallen behind, we tend to overcompensate with ambitious plans and extensive to-do lists, but this often leads straight back to failure. Instead, focus on securing a few wins to regain your footing. Build momentum gradually to tackle the bigger goals—don't fool yourself into believing you'll dig out of the hole overnight.