Have you ever wondered why some days you feel like one little thing goes wrong and pretty soon the whole day turns out bad?
That's momentum at play.
"Momentum: a property of a moving body that determines the length of time required to bring it
to rest when under the action of a constant force" - Webster Dictionary
Momentum is calculated by multiplying speed and velocity. So if either of those is strong enough, it creates a high momentum that is difficult to stop.
Even something as small as a bullet, once it gets going fast enough, is very hard to stop. Karate experts can achieve enough momentum to breaks through bricks with their bare hands by moving at a fast enough speed. A train with a heavy load has to brake for a long time to slow down because the weight it carries creates extremely high momentum.
In a way, emotions have mass and velocity too. Emotions that are fast like anger or fear, are harder to control. Negative emotions have weight to them that can be difficult to lift. If you don't stop yourself from indulging in negative thoughts, they can rapidly build momentum and suddenly it's quite difficult to turn your day around.
When you feel this start to happen, my first recommendation is to SLOW IT ALL DOWN. Don't rush around trying to solve problems, because speed just adds to the negative momentum. You don't want to go faster when you are headed in the wrong direction.
Once you've slowed down, then you can try to keep it light. If you can, laugh at yourself a little! Listen to a positive podcast or watch something lighthearted that you enjoy to start redirecting your thoughts in the other direction. Listening to calm light music can help too.
Momentum can work in any direction. Positive emotions are lighter and don't build momentum as easily, but the principle still applies. Taking the first step in that direction is the hardest part, but once you start, it doesn't take long before you don't want to stop doing the very thing you avoided starting!
We are now a week and a half away from shooting our feature film. When deadlines approach, it's easy to feel nervous. And that nervousness can easily spiral into anxiety, fear, and negativity. But nervousness and excitement are actually almost the exact same sensation.
This week I hope I can help my team focus on having fun with the process and enjoying it all. Keeping things fun and light is one of my favorite ways to build positive momentum and laughter is a great way to relieve stress.