Motivation vs Momentum: How to Move on the Days You Feel “Meh”
Down in the dumps. Time of the month. Procrastination.
Whatever you wanna call it, we all feel it sometimes.
And if you’re a woman? It’s probably a regular monthly visitor.
I even once wrote a whole chapter on procrastination. Ironically, I think that was the beginning of me stopping writing altogether.
Even today, I thought, “I should write a Substack”… but then immediately followed it with, “Can I really be bothered?”
Post number three, and I’m already feeling the slump.
Why is that?
Why does the beginning feel electric, like meeting your partner for the first time - and then two years in, the sound of them breathing or chewing makes your eye twitch?
How do we keep the spark alive?
In a relationship. In a job. In a hobby. Why do we start strong… and then stop?
Momentum.
That’s the secret sauce.
Motivation might light the fire, but momentum is what keeps it burning.
Sometimes, it’s the tiniest wins - a comment from a silent follower (hint hint) that gives you a boost. That little bit of acknowledgement creates a ripple: it makes you want to do more. Post more. Write more. Create more.
But you know what I’ve never understood?
Why it’s so hard for people to compliment their own friends.
We’ll hype up strangers on Instagram we’ve never met… but the people we love? Silence. Isn’t that mad?
Anyway, what I do know is this:
Motivation starts the project.
Momentum finishes it.
And in a social media world, where success is too often measured in likes and follower counts- stop. I follow 5,000 people on Instagram. Sixty are coming to my wedding.
I tried to delete followers and got shadowbanned. True story.
So maybe success isn’t about the numbers.
Maybe it’s about showing up. Again. And again.
Even when it feels like no one’s clapping.
Do it for you. Because you are the most important person in the room.
When we started posting videos of Rokit as a baby, people would ask, “Why do you do that?”
Just silly little skits. But now, looking back at those moments, his baby voice, his face, the memories frozen in time, I’m so grateful I did.
Would I have captured all those memories without social media? Honestly… probably not.
So when the motivation fades, here’s what I do:
I take a step back.
I write down what I’ve done this year.
This month.
This week.
Today.
I look at the tiny details I’ve achieved without even realising.
And if that still doesn’t fire me up, I ask myself one question:
Am I having fun?
If the answer is yes, then that’s reason enough to keep going.
Do it for YOU.
Motivation gets you started, but momentum keeps you going," John C. Maxwell