Building Momentum

Drink a glass of water. That was as much as I could handle. When my friend first gave me this writing prompt, I had no idea how to write about this topic from my personal experience. I was depressed and had a hard time getting out of bed, taking a shower, or brushing my teeth. Self-care was out the window. Building through momentum to more difficult endeavors like exercise was a no-go. The idea of doing one push-up seemed easy enough. But did I do it? No. How could I manage to build momentum when one small task was like a mountain?

Then it hit me. I couldn’t do any of those things but I could drink a glass of water. That was the one thing I could do more to what I was already doing. It was barely enough to overcome the inertia that was plaguing my day-to-day. Start with a drink of water. That was my self-acceptance moment.

Rather than judging myself for the little progress and setbacks I was making, I changed my perspective. Momentum was not all about what tasks I could manage to do. It was in my attitude. Before I could move forward I needed to accept where I was. As much as I could handle was to drink a glass of water and that was okay. Without judgment, I leaned into it. I accepted myself. 

During this season, I have made minimal progress on my self-care and fitness goals. However, I am making noticeable progress on my attitude goals starting with my negative self-talk. For decades, I have been plagued with an onslaught of negative thinking. “I hate my life.” “F*ck you, Tom.” F*ck all of you.” These were the tapes playing in my head and I spoke them out loud to myself. It’s been a nightmare. But rather than judging myself each time I let these thoughts come out, I started with self-acceptance. Yes, here is where I am right now. It’s okay. I love myself despite these flaws. These flaws are a part of me. I leaned in. The minimum I could do about these thoughts was let them linger. That’s where I was. 

Then, the crucial change came. I learned that letting a thought linger for just 8 seconds allows for it to take root. For the past week now, I developed and implemented a plan to make progress to remove this negative thinking in my life. I catch myself and immediately say, “In Jesus name, I silence the voice of the enemy. I take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” The negative thinking has quieted.

If as much as you can do right now to improve your situation is drink a glass of water, then accept that about yourself. In the same way, if you are plagued with negative thinking like I am, accept it. Lean into it before you attempt to change it. Building through momentum is not always about building small actions into habits. It’s an attitude change from self-judgment to self-acceptance.