Fresh Start Monday #033: It's easy to build a life you don't want

It's easy to build a life you don't want.

It's easy to build a career you don't want.

It's easy to build a body you don't want.

On my mind: it's easy to build a business you don't want.

Back in December, I wrote a newsletter about how we need to follow our momentum. This is still true! However, if you don't take a step back from the day-to-day, do you know where your momentum is taking you?

The difficulty of stopping momentum is both a pro and con.

I think of sledding. You're at the top of a big snow hill. It's flat before you get to the slope. You're sitting in the sled, trying to nudge it forward. You're making progress an inch at a time.

Once, you start down the hill, it's exhilarating. You want to sled down for as long as possible.

Stopping your momentum is like getting off the sled halfway down a steep hill.

You know that crashing the sled might be painful. You know that you'll have to climb back up the hill once you stop.

Sometimes the change you want in your life is about stopping the momentum.

It's the career pivot away from the field in which you just spent five years. It's the breakup with your best friend or partner. It's the move away from the city you've built a home in.

Whether we like it or not, we're building momentum towards something in all aspects of life: career/business, romantic relationships, friends/family, health, etc.

In that December post, I mentioned how successful Rover has been. It's allowed me to keep a flexible schedule for coaching and pay the bills.

Now, dozens of clients and referrals later, I'm questioning how much I want to do this. I keep saying yes, but what is it that I'm building? By saying yes, what am I saying no to?

Journal prompt for you

If I do nothing, where is my momentum taking me?

I added "nothing" because it's easier to let life flow. To not have the hard conversations. To not make the hard decisions. To not say no.

Sunk cost fallacy plays a part too. Once we invest a certain amount of time, money, or effort into something, we want to continue with our path.

Choosing to stop our momentum doesn't mean we made a wrong decision, but it might mean slightly changing course.

With pet care, I want to be pickier about whom I work with and do more off-leash hikes than other services.

How about you?