Momentum

Momentum

In life, there are phases of upbringings and drawbacks.  There are swings of positivity where things may be clicking on all cylinders, and conversely times that you may find it hard to accomplish anything.  At times making it hard to continue persisting a goal that may seem now impossible to achieve.  There is a driving force behind this display of internal empowerment, it is called momentum.

Momentum is a force, it’s nearly as predictable as gravity or the sun rising and setting.  It casts a light that can turn into the brightest and most beautiful days, and sets into the most mystifying horrors that trigger borderline insanity if you are unable to remain strong enough to combat it.  Momentum gives you tests to see how you handle a life change or experience.  It is meant as a tool to keep you humble upon good fortune, and remain optimistic upon the harshest of darkness.  It can set just as quickly as it can rise, causing a series of endeavors that make you feel as if you are living in a TV show or movie.  Writers base their screenplay upon the things that they see in everyday life, many are written based on true events.  This is meant to encapsulate a moment that someone has experienced and make it real for an audience that may have not suffered the hardships that positive and negative momentum swings can generate.  It could be used as a lesson teaching exodus for all willing to take a minute to recognize the actions of a character and base a personal response of the age old question – “What would I do if this happened to me?”

Not all positive momentum is what it seems, and not all negative momentum is what it seems.  A positive event taking place could be a test to see how you do with having an upperhand in the game of life.  It may be a trial that you can fail upon simply squandering your time upon highrise.  A negative event may be a test to see if you have the ability to rise and overcome, or exacerbate the experience and find yourself huddled in the fetal position.  You cannot change what has happened in the past, but only utilize the experience as a tool to uphold yourself to a higher standard and fight to remain centered through what may seem like an uncertain time ranging from simply coddled by life, to detriment dished out from the hands of a force stronger than ourselves.  A process of survival of the fittest at its peak.  A systematic oppression or a changing of the guard.  It is not to be taken lightly, as these impactful moments are near the very core in which we build the foundation of ourselves and our lives on.  Treading lightly is simply an ignorance that cannot be sufficed in order to obtain a level of success, and it may be easier than you think to surprise yourself with the things that you can achieve through the mystical abyss that you are enduring.

In sports, you see momentum swing during the course of a game, of a season, of a career.  An NBA game can turn on a dime with the appropriate efforts defensively and a transition 3 pointer.  In the NFL, the 3rd and 1 stop at midfield and a coach deciding against the effort of even attempting a 4th down conversion.  You get the ball back and march down the field to turn a 14 point game to a 7 point game, when you were looking at a potential 21 point deficit.  In baseball, it is a homerun away from a momentous occasion.  In hockey, a goal to bring it to a 1 goal difference.  It is always said in the NHL that a 2 goal lead is the most dangerous lead.  This being that giving up one goal swings the pendulum so far in the other direction, a 2nd goal is likely to follow.  You see this in life as well.

You may know a man or a woman that has fallen on hard times.  You get fired from a job, you come across unexpected bills that cripple you financially, you experience a horrifying death in the family.  These things can bring a person to their knees.  And sometimes you see an individual who receives a promotion that changes the well being of the lifestyle they are able to afford to live.  You see a lucky break that incites new pathways to be forged.  You see the birth of a new living being that will impact your life in a positive way forever.  And just as particular scenarios can be incredibly impactful in one direction, it may take only one of the things from the other side of the coin to turn around the entire direction of one’s life.  There is a humbling experience for someone on the top who has recently endured a hardship that is difficult to overcome and sends an individual spiraling.  Someone who has been under the pressure of persistent stresses hits the lottery and it allows for opportunities of change and providing a better life for the individual and their loved ones.

For me personally, I have experienced momentum almost as a flowing oceanfront for the majority of my life.  I spent the first 8 years of my life with the ability to be a kid.  From ages 9-18 my life took a constant swing towards the pits of existence.  A constant struggle to figure out how to handle having a lack of parenting, a lack of guidance.  I spent much of my teenage years becoming an adult early just so I could simply relieve myself of an environment that would prove to be detrimental to my very existence without an exit strategy.  From 18-25 I found myself thriving.  Limitless potential, uncanny work ethic, persistence to achieve goals even beyond what I had seen for myself in my younger years.  From 25 onward, it would be hard to say I’ve lived in one particular linear direction.  I have gone through attempting to form a marriage that failed long before it could have started and the company that I had spent nearly 8 years building myself in closing its doors for good, to receiving the most relevant promotion that I have come across in my professional life and meeting someone who is a stable driving force in my day to day life.  These are all stories that I will write about in the future and it wouldn’t do them any sense of justice to tell them all in short detail in an article written about the momentum of life.  But I would be doing a disservice to the audience if I didn’t take a moment to talk about the momentum created in life, and the fruition and detriment that it can create.  Everyone knows someone who is currently at their peak, and conversely, everyone knows someone that is taking every difficult situation in stride at a time when they should be experiencing the fruits and joys of life.  That person may be you.  

Realize your potential of growth, and validate your own willingness to create success regardless of the circumstances you may be overwhelmed with in your current situation.  If you are currently going through a rough time as many of us in America are currently experiencing just by simply turning on the news, or looking out the window, remember that all it takes is your defensive stand followed by your transition 3 to turn things around for yourself.  You may not know where you will come across the opportunity.  But opportunity is a diamond in the rough, you may have to keep digging, but if you remain persistent upon success you will eventually achieve your goals and overcome your shortcomings.  I see on social media everyday someone sharing a story of a significantly positive or negative happening that has recently taken place in their life.  It’s only a matter of time before the other side of the ball rolls over.  When it’s on the 

right side, cherish it and utilize it for the best that it can be.  When it’s on the wrong side, don’t give in.  It’s going to end if you give it the necessary time to roll back over to a favorable place.

Recognize and realize that everyone is going through their own battles with momentum, and that experiences vary from person to person.  We are not by any means parallel on the hampster wheel of life that we are all forced to run. You may be in the best place in your life, while a peer, friend, coworker has fallen upon the worst experiences they have partaken in theirs.  We all fight the same fight, and the more realistically conducive we are to our surroundings, we can pick one another up in times of utter chaos and turmoil.  Listen, and be aware.

Until next time –

Colby