My Olympic exhibition event wouldn’t be break dancing, but mountain unicycling. Not that I’d compete, but I am an enthusiast. At 56 years old, not only has this hobby kept my brain and body strong and healthy, this taught me volumes about managing life’s complexity and challenges. And you don’t have to do this, to gain those lessons for your life and business. This three part series will focus on three critical ways you can benchmark your growth and manage difficulty: Momentum, Trajectory, and Alignment.

Let’s start with momentum, which is similar to speed. Although utility doesn’t necessarily increase proportionally. You must have some momentum to continue balancing and stay upright, and without forward movement you lose ability to turn or overcome obstacles. However, with too much momentum, you might be easily thrown by an unexpected challenge.

Where in your work and life do you currently have momentum? Pay close attention to these areas, and leverage them to your benefit. What opportunities are now possible because you have momentum here? And, what can you do to keep it going?

Also, where are you losing momentum? Common momentum breakers include indecisiveness, deflecting responsibility, and endless urgencies. Also, systems and approaches that are no longer working. Loss of momentum should command your attention.

And don’t just watch it happen. Respond, adding energy, innovation, and decisiveness regaining momentum before you lose it completely. It’s far harder to recover from a standstill.

To add momentum to any aspect of life, apply focused time, energy, money, thought, or prayer. Get help where you’re currently struggling or unequipped.

Stay tuned, as next week we’ll focus on the second critical key and the T of our MTA acronym: Trajectory. Until then, keep moving, and stay Off Balance On Purpose.