Preserve Your Momentum !

December 9, 2009 by Milton Kamwendo
Filed under: Unleashing Greatness 

What is momentum? The dictionary definition of momentum is the power to increase or develop at an ever-growing pace or the speed or force of forward movement of an object. The synonyms of this beautiful word are impetus, drive, thrust, energy, or force. In the journey of greatness momentum should never be taken for granted but it must be preserved. Preserving momentum is not easy but it is possible. 
At the beginning of any project there is usually a lot of anticipation and at times there is fun-fare. However, it is when we get into the cruise mode that momentum is most threatened. It is when we feel that success is in sight that the risk of losing momentum is highest.

At some point in our lives we have all come across the legendary stories of Hare and Tortoise. The two challenged each other to a marathon race, which was going to take several days to complete. For Hare the results of the competition were predictable. He just forgot that past success is not a guarantee for future success. The abilities that we are endowed with only become an advantage when we use them. On the appointed day a cheering crowd of the jungle saw the two off the starting line. As was expected, Hare took the early lead. He ran until he was confident that Tortoise, with his slow pace, would never catch up. So, he lost his momentum —he decided that it was now time to relax. Having run for the whole day he was so exhausted and burnt out and he decided to celebrate his achievements. He treated himself to a heavy meal and took generous quantities of his favourite beverage and then sat under a big tree and slept.

Meanwhile tortoise knew that success is a long and winding journey and not a sprint. He paced himself for the long haul and preserved his momentum. He knew that he had to remain focused and to believe in himself. He stayed on his course, day and night. Kilometre after another he ran on wondering if his opponent Hare had already crossed the line. He remembered that in life it is important for one to always run in his or her lane. This thought liberated him from competition against Hare as it gave him unnecessary stress and made Hare his ceiling. He focused on exploiting his total potential. In essence he realised that the best way to keep moving forward was to stick his head out and to put a fire underneath him. It is not how fast we run in life that matters but how focused and diligent we remain.

Having treated himself to a mid-term celebration, Hare slept for several days. He was sure that the slow and dawdling tortoise would never be his match when it came to athletics. The biggest mistake we can ever do is to underestimate other people’s potential. When he finally woke up he realised that he had a little hangover but this was nothing big given that he had outclassed his opponent already — so he thought. He got back into the race but this time he was not as focused as he had been before. He was confident that he had already won and all that he was left to do was to show up at the finishing line and throw a big party for his clan. He just forgot that the price of greatness must be paid in full and in advance. Certainly it never crossed his mind that there is nothing like an overnight success. Success is a time intensive business. One has to delay one’s gratification and fight one’s way to the end.

Hare ran on and there was no Tortoise in sight and he thought that this race was just a fait accompli. Just as he rounded the bend to make his way towards the finishing line he heard some very loud cheers and wondered who could be cheering him at this stage. As he turned he saw Tortoise crossing the finishing line. He had been outclassed and Tortoise had won the race! From that day Hare learned never to lose momentum and never to underestimate the competition. To this day no Hare ever runs at a leisurely pace.

Tap Into Your Passion
Momentum is fed by passion. Passion is an important key to greatness. Passion cannot be created it can only be discovered. Each of us must find something that we are deeply passionate about. When we throw ourselves into the centre of our passion success becomes a mere function of time. Time, effort and resources are wasted in most organisations when we try to get people to become passionate about what they are not passionate about in the first place. Momentum is soon lost when we are trying to be that which we are not. Each of us needs to run in his or her lane. Greatness is not a game of impressions — it is a game of passion.

To your greatness!
Milton Kamwendo

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