Momentum...

Inertia can be a tricky thing. In physics (quoted from Wikipedia), it's "...the force that makes an object in motion stay in motion. It is directly proportional to an objects mass. The heavier the object is, the more inertia it has and it would keep going forever if it was in a frictionless environment. Another way to put it is inertia is how much an object will resist a change of velocity."

So a planet, like Earth, who has a very large mass moving through frictionless space will stay in it's orbit motion indefinitely due to this rule. Like it has for the last 4-5 billion years (or so we think).

We have all used this word to also describe our own lives. In that we just settle into a groove (what ever that may consist of) and changing from that cycle is very, very difficult. Those of you who have suffered through life changing events such as divorce, a death of a loved one or something even like a diet change can understand the gravity of what the size of that "force" has to be to change the velocity and/or vector that your life was previously on prior to that life changing event.

I am like everyone else in that there are certain aspects to my life that have shaped me to how I do things today and changing direction takes an immense amount of energy. And because of that very investment in the expenditure of energy, that in itself can be the limiting factor. Sometimes we convince ourselves it's just too hard or too painful to be worth the effort and that we should just settle for what we've been delt with - even if we don't really like it all that much.

I have written about motivation before in this blog. That we move from pain to pleasure and the degree of motivation comes from the amount of pain we're desperately trying to escape. The thing about a life change of any type is that the "inertia" that we've managed to find ourselves in, and even if we can make logical reasoning for a needed change, the fact of the matter is that in order to make the actual change, the energy required for that change is a very, very painful transition. So motivation is curbed due to not wanting to "walk through the fire".

Believe me, and I'm sure you can relate, that this is a very, very strong factor in stopping any progress that would require pain to finally reach the end result. This goes for starting an exercise program, to diet change, to breaking off a bad relationship to quitting your job and going back to school. Even if we can picture ourselves at the finish line successful - that image of ourselves can be just a pipe dream.

Self discipline and directed change is the toughest to do. We are our own judge and jury and sometimes we can prescribe the remedy of "probation with time served" when we attempt life change but then fall short of our goals, loose faith and then slide back into the previous reality. Even if that prior reality still has it's own pitfalls that have us soon longing for that life change again.

That's where surrounding yourself with good people comes in. And why that it is so important to back one another up when dreams are laid out on the table. Whether that dream has pragmatical issues or maybe it's something simple like wanting to live a better life through what we choose to eat. When your spouse/friend/loved one shares a dream of theirs, listen and entertain it. Don't rush to find a practical way of implementing it! Those details can (and will) work themselves out if the dream has merit and moves to that stage of actually executing it (and this note is for the guys out there - we're terrible at just listening and hopping on the "solve-it" bandwagon. This is something that I have been very guilty about in my own relationships).

But as with all things, dreams are fragile and they require care for them to blossom. And especially when those dreams of change need a lot of energy to reach the end result, all hands must be on deck to ensure it's viable delivery. For the scale of some dreams require the teamwork of many to accomplish them. Henry Ford could not have pulled off his vision of automobile manufacturing without the support (both financial and relational) of others. He may have been his own "force of nature" and could move mountains by himself, but every man reaches beyond his limits and that requires help.

Do any of you have any examples of recognizing a dream, working through the transition and then what it was like to either accomplish your goal or to have failed? I'm curious.