Let's get Physic-al

Posted 02 Aug 2011 in General

I have a guilty pleasure - you'll never guess what it is - so I'll tell you - it's...

PHYSICS

I know!  Now, call me odd - why not - 'normal' has never been on my list of things to be... but I think the laws of physics are fascinating. Made even more so by the intricate way they run our daily lives, often without or knowledge or appreciation.

But - what does this have to do with common sense or personal development?

Well...

let me give you a prime example... If you took Physics at school you may remember Newton's First Law of Motion (or then again you may not!) It states that:

"An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force."

This is also known as 'the Law of Inertia'

Now, in the world of personal or business development and coaching there's a lot of talk about building momentum, this is keeping going one step at a time to create the environment to make huge changes further down the line.

But not so much is said about Inertia. And, I'm pretty certain that, at different times through your life, this is exactly what you've had to deal with - I know I have.

Inertia is that feeling you may get when you simply 'can't be a*sed', when everything looks, feels and sounds like too much effort.

It can also be that feeling of 'OK, I'm moving along nicely 'in a straight line' but I know that in order to achieve what I want to achieve, something will have to change'. You know something is needed to shift you a tiny degree off your current path to take you to the new dizzying heights you're actually aiming for.

Now, good old Newton said that the change required is an external force. For example, imagine you have a ball sat in front of you on a table, to get that ball rolling you have to give it a nudge in the direction you want it to go. But how about a car? Surely here, the forces acting upon the stationary vehicle come from within, from the engine which is inside the car, and nowadays is managed by the on board computer?

And so it is for you and I. Our inertia may be highlighted by external forces, such as getting bad news from your GP which tells you you must lose weight, or receiving a bank statement with a large red number on it, telling you you have to take control of your finances.

But, the force that overcomes inertia for you must come from within! YOU must override your engine management system and create new programs, in other words you must DECIDE to change something.

So, if you're stuck there, being 'inert' but you know you want to change, here are my tips to get you moving...

1. Shift your awareness of what you want to change
2. Uncover a big enough reason WHY you want to make these changes (aka the FORCE)
3. Make your DECISION
4. Stick to it!

Simple eh? But not easy... There are potential barriers at every stage - but know that this really is as simple as it looks and with the right support along the way, you'll soon be rolling along like the proverbial snowball down a hill, effortlessley building momentum!

So, may the force be with you!