Why People Lose Momentum In Their Pursuits
I am battling to keep my momentum in my pursuit of writing articles on Medium. I am figuring out why it happens and what can help?
We give far more importance to the beginning and far less recognition to the journey.
This is my 10th article on Medium. I expected to achieve this feat a lot earlier than today, but I just couldn't do it. Some experienced and veteran writers may scoff at this tiny milestone, but it is a big deal to me!
I was charged up when I started writing on Medium a few weeks ago. I wrote the first 5–6 articles quickly, shared them with my friends and family, got the claps, and got appreciation from some knowledgeable fellow writers across the globe. People were following me and were interested in reading my work. I thought I had done it.
The most important step of all is the first step. Start something, and I started.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and I took that step (a couple of steps, in fact).
But, slowly, everything began to fade out, and I lost the momentum. I like the claps, and I love the responses to my article, but they are still not making this process any simpler.
This article is both an introspection and a “dear diary” scribble.
No matter how much I read about maintaining the continuity of writing, no matter how much I believe that daily writing of articles is necessary, it is still a chore for me.
This got me thinking about what changed in a couple of days. How quickly this article writing hustle transitioned from a charged up motivational high to an involved tiring low of thinking and writing.
That is when it hit me — any high can only last for so long.
You can ride the high wave and enjoy the thrill, but that is only momentarily. You will quickly find yourself back to the low again, mustering courage and preparing for another high if you can. Nobody had done it differently, no matter how much they say it. No matter how many times they say it.
However, the below two thoughts can put a little more perspective on why we lose steam during our pursuits.
The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility * Dopamine Reward System
Marginal utility is the satisfaction customers get from consuming a unit of goods or services.
The law of diminishing marginal utility states that as the consumption of any goods or services increases, the value or satisfaction that the customer gains from each subsequent consumption decreases.
This law is taught mainly in economics but can be generalized to how we treat happiness that we gain from experiences around us.
As a quick example — if you are thirsty, the first glass of water provides high value, but as you drink more water, the less thirsty you feel, making each additional glass of water less valuable.
The same thing happens when we start something new vs. when we continue it for a longer time. When I started writing on Medium, one follower or one clap to my article provided me with enough dopamine that it put me in a state of high.
But after publishing a few articles, my brain got accustomed to this reward. Although all the comments and claps are still valuable to me, my brain is not generating enough dopamine.
The Pursuit Needs Far More Courage than the First Step
The first step, the first action, is glamorized enough by the world.
It is true that without taking that first step, you can’t even begin your journey towards something great. For some, it may be the most courageous thing to attempt. But only taking that first step or the first couple of actions will not help achieve anything. It is what it is, only a first step. It is not a silver bullet.
Many have left the gym even though they were getting in shape.
Many have left playing an instrument after learning the basics of it.
Many have left Medium after writing a couple of articles and getting hundreds of followers.
They did take a couple of steps, in my opinion.
The truth is that pursuit needs far more courage than the first step. You only have to begin once, but you have to tread daily.
Daily you have to show up, do the hard work, face your courage, work on your weakness, fix your mistakes, and then get ready to repeat this. The process does not change. The process can get easy, it can become your second nature, but it remains constant.
We give far more importance to the beginning and far less recognition to the journey.
But then why we don’t talk about this?
Firstly, the world does not want to bore you with the intricacies of the process. It is left for each one of us to discover for ourselves. Secondly, since our stories are different, we all live different lives; therefore, how we pursue something becomes unique from the rest of the world.
What is the way out?
As explained above, each of us has to figure this out for ourselves. But if it helps, pat yourself on the back that you did the right thing by taking that first step, and then straighten your back because you still have to take a lot of steps in your pursuit.
