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In simple physics terms, momentum refers to the force of a moving object. We can liken momentum to our own business or productivity flow. Momentum is important in stretching yourself to maximize your full potential and seeing how far you can really go. What is your optimal state?
Amanda Boleyn, CEO at She Did It Her Way, talks about ways we can build up our momentum towards reaching our full potential. Working with companies like ATT, Weight Watchers, JP Morgan, Intel, HP, Google and KU Medical Center has helped her hone in on what can accelerate us and move us forward, as well as a restraint principle that’s important to helping you stay focused and driven.
I believe that we are innately our biggest assets. - Amanda Boleyn
Much like the push and pull of life, it’s highly advantageous to know when to floor the gas pedal to reach our optimum state of being, and when to step on the brakes, take a beat, and reflect.
The Pushes
Amanda shared two principles that bring us to a forward motion heading towards our full potential. These fundamentals require a proactive approach and putting yourself out there. And though they may seem daunting to execute, you’ll definitely reap the reward of reaching your optimal self.
Take ownership
Having extreme accountability is so important because that is how you continue to learn. - Amanda Boleyn
The beauty about taking ownership of our life and the results of our actions is we can be empowered to change them. Many people are so resistant to change that they fail to recognize that even being given the opportunity to pivot, redirect and realign yourself is rare.
It's much harder to change your life, let alone make room for personal development, if you're not willing to acknowledge the results of your actions.
If we don’t take accountability for our results, how would we be able to change them?
Taking ownership and taking accountability is really key for designing and creating the life and business that you want. - Amanda Boleyn
Most people who are stuck in a job or a situation that they don't like will take the easier route and play the “I'm stuck” or “I don't have a choice” card. When this happens, the subconscious mind processes this thought and we end up shutting down all possibilities, preventing us from being resourceful or innovative.
But take the opposite route: examine and become aware of the thoughts that you're thinking about your current circumstance. This will move you into action and inspire you to come up with solutions and possibilities instead of excuses.
It makes them feel a certain way where it's either it could be uninspired. It can make them feel like not enough. It can make them feel, uh, disappointed.
Every situation, every circumstance, is neutral. The question is how can we change the way we think about it? Do we dwell on the hardships and feel discouraged or defeated? Or do we trudge past the hardships and challenges to get to where we want to go? Same circumstance, two different thoughts. That's a more empowering thought that leads to an action that actually produces a result in the direction that we want to go.
Essentially, taking ownership circles around becoming aware of the thoughts and the meaning of our actions and choices, and being graceful with ourselves in the process.
Invest in yourself
When we can invest in ourselves, when we can feed our mind information that is going to help us multiply and produce - and we’re not just speaking of revenue. Income is an amazing measuring stick, but investing in yourself goes beyond the numbers and allows you to be a conscious human by becoming more aware and connected with yourself and with others.
We, as humans and especially in business, are the best investment that we can make because the more we grow and the more that our mindset grows and we remove limiting beliefs and deal with childhood wounds, the more we can also give. - Amanda Boleyn
Investing in even a nominal amount a month, say $50, in yourself can completely change your entire world. The proactive decision of allocating resources towards personal and professional development is the trigger or prompt your mind needs to align your actions.
Conversely, when we want to hold on to money too much, the tendency is to try to figure it out ourselves or DIY it because we don't want to spend $500 for a program that's going to teach us exactly how to do it.
What does investing in yourself look like? This could mean enrolling in a course that can take you from A to Z and have an industry expert or experienced individual coach you along the way so that you can get the results faster.
Investing in yourself can mean continuing education and seeking opportunities to learn. But in doing, assess what it is that you need to learn the most.
There might be 10 things you want to learn. But which one do you want to learn first? Pick that one thing and focus on that one thing for a month or two months or a quarter, and then pick the next thing. Which segues perfectly to the next principle...
The Pull
This pull principle is not meant to slow you down or stunt your progress. Rather, it’s about putting the breaks in so that you don’t come crashing down a steep slope.
Limit external input
There is a plethora of information available to anyone, anytime, anywhere. And if put in the wrong hands, like a type A persona with an insatiable desire to consume and learn, it can be extremely overwhelming to the point of paralysis.
With the way our society is designed currently - online marketing at its apex and yet hungry for more - most of what’s supposedly knowledge can turn to noise. It's really easy to get distracted. And when we're not clear on what our focus is and what we want it to be, we can easily slip into reactive mode - the opposite of our highest potential.
Doing something that doesn't need to be done in the first place is the worst thing. It's just a waste of time. - Amanda Boleyn
Even if it's an act of producing and it's doing something good, but it's not actually adding value, there's no point in doing it.
It takes a lot of discipline to limit the external input to help us focus on what our true vision and our goals are so that we can achieve them.
How can you limit consumption? Turn off notifications on your phone and set limits for how long you're on social media apps. Give yourself permission not to listen to all the podcasts or attend all the Facebook and IG lives. Hibernate from all the Zoom calls and webinars that take up a good part of your day.
There's a tipping point where we have to put constraints on all passive action: listening, watching, and reading, and start taking massive action in order to see results. Massive action involves actually applying your goals and ticking things off your to do list.
Limiting that input so it doesn't become a distraction. - Amanda Boleyn
A common mistake we make is automatically reaching for our phone and looking at our notifications. Instead of doing this, when you wake up, give yourself that space for your mind to wake up and reflect. Take the time to clear your mind and not let your emotions be conditioned by the stress from work or the overwhelm from all your notifications.
Another important situation to avoid is being hyper distracted and wanting to start ten different things without any concrete plan on how to close the loop. This happens often when there's too much input and direction. It becomes a squirrel moment and at the end of it you’re no longer staying focused. Instead, using constraints to create that focus.
Ask yourself: how can I learn one thing and implement another and not allow myself to be distracted by other shiny things? - Amanda Boleyn
Learn to limit the external impact to give yourself the breathing room to handle what you can actually handle. Create space for that external input first before learning more new things. Because if it's just static information or unapplied knowledge, energetically and physically, it's just stuff there that doesn't need to be there.
Understand the relationship of cost versus benefit. With the external information you're considering to consume, is it benefiting you in terms of an energetic way to fuel you to produce the results that you want? Or is it just an adrenaline rush from having something new, but it’s not really giving you results you want to achieve?
Know what you really only need to do in order to achieve it, then have the discipline to block out everything else that you can’t really process at the moment.
