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Most of us don’t think about “inertia.”  In fact, it is a word that few of us use in our daily conversations.  So, what is inertia?  Simply put, inertia is the tendency of things at rest to remain at rest and the tendency of things in motion to remain in motion.

Inertia is one of the key components that divide the successful among us from those of us who wish to be successful.  We all know both kinds of people.  We know people who say they want to be successful but never take action.  And, we know people who get results, achieve success, and seem to know something the rest of us never learned.  Those in the latter group are the action figures.

As discussed earlier there are two reasons we do not achieve success, whatever we define it to be.  The first reason we do not achieve the success we say we desire is that we do not know how.  The second reason is we do not want to.  Of course, everyone says he wants to be a success at something and most of us talk a good game.  But, our inertia is at rest.  In other words we are in our comfort zone.  It is easier to wish than to take action… and far more frustrating.

How do we get the ball rolling?  First, we set goals.  In a previous post I laid out the 7 steps to goal setting.  Remember, a goal must be:

• Conceivable
• Believable
• Achievable
• Controllable
• Measurable
• Stated with no alternatives
• Growth facilitating

As an aside, I have received a few questions via email about the last step.  The idea of a growth facilitating goal is essential.  In fact, the last step is what makes a goal a goal.  The indication is that we grow, we stretch, we do something we have not done previously.  The reality is that if we have repeatedly performed an activity and are proficient at doing so, it is no longer a goal.  It is an activity.

But, back to inertia.  Let’s assume that we have successfully stated a goal.  We may have figured out that we have all the “want to” in the world, but we don’t know how to accomplish the goal.  In that moment, if we do not take action inertia will begin to control us. 

Everyone of us knows someone who comes up with a big idea and never follows through.  Over time we roll our eyes when we see him coming or we avoid him altogether.  He is the one with the get rich quick schemes that come and go faster than the tide ebbs and flows.  His ideas may be grand but his inertia is at rest.  He never gets into motion.  He never acts to accomplish his dreams.

Or, perhaps we know the cataloger.  He collects everything he can find about success.  He may or may not read the material, but he has it.  He has collected it.  I am reminded of what one of my associates said to me one day.  He was talking about his wife.  She had stated that she wanted to lose weight.  She bought a stationary bicycle.  She had bought workout clothes and a good pair of shoes for walking.  Three months later the bicycle handles were doubling as a clothes rack and the workout wear was still in the bag.  The husband said to me, “If buying the bicycle and the clothes were all it took to lose weight, my wife would be too thin.”

I laughed at the comment.  Later I thought about it more seriously.  His wife had never taken action.  She had collected and cataloged everything she thought she needed to get started on her weight loss plan.  She just never got started.  Her inertia was at rest.

As we begin the journey to accomplishing our goals, we must get the ball rolling.  We must get started.  Once we get the ball rolling, we will have the tendency to keep it rolling.

Now, back to the basics.  Have the courage to face the truth.  Is your inertia at rest?  Or, is the ball rolling?  Today is the day to take action.