Overcoming Inertia
We all have experienced it. There comes a time when there is a break of several days in our schedule – either because of vacation, illness, a family emergency, a conference, or an intense project at work. Whatever it is, it has the effect of derailing us from our normal routine. During that time, even though it may be for a very good reason, we stop prioritizing some of our healthy habits – whether it be exercising or managing our Diet or reading for pleasure or any of a number of other things that we are committed to doing.
Under those circumstances, inertia takes over. We find it harder to get back to exercising regularly or eating healthy meals or practicing self-care in other ways. Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion is worth noting here. He observed that a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion at a constant velocity tends to stay in motion UNLESS an outside force acts to change either of those tendencies.
That has a lot of relevance for inanimate objects whose fate is determined by outside forces. As humans, however, we are both the body and the force. We have the uniquely human ability to not let inertia determine our fate. As I had indicated, we all experience situations that interfere with our normal ways of doing things. For those of us who have made a commitment to be proactive about our physical and Mental Health and a commitment to Growth, we cannot passively submit to inertia when the immediate crisis or intense situation ends. Inertia doesn’t have a brain and it doesn’t have a stake in our motivation toward growth and self-improvement.
It may take a little extra effort and it may take some time to ease back to your normal Lifestyle, but your commitment to your health and growth should enable you with the motivation to avoid excuses and overcome inertia so that you can continue the process of becoming an increasingly better version of yourself.
