Momentum

907: 

Optimism becomes more of a reality when you think of work as something pleasurable - the whole task of trying to change vast numbers of people’s minds isn’t so much about its ‘impossibility’ as the challenge of it all. We just don’t need the lead-weighted mind-set of inevitable failure; we can’t afford to fail before we’ve even started (and in terms of making a substantial impact, we haven’t really started yet).

It helps for us to remember just what has to happen to set off change on a large scale. We need to see the sequence of things, by remembering how it was for us, as each attitudinal barrier fell, only to expose the next one, which in turn fell to the next, and so on. The struggle was lightened as the sequence of events formed a pattern; the pattern of change became satisfying enough to move us on to the next stage.

            How it happens: We move from a basically, fairly selfish life (human-centred) to doing something for ourselves that merges with ‘doing something for others’. We move from the teeth-gritting stage of trying to be more selfless to a type of ‘work’ that isn’t boring or reluctant. Instead of needing results to spur us on we take on a project with impossible odds and find that to be not so much of a turn off. Momentum becomes more important than results; as long as we’re going in a consistent direction, day by day, that is enough to hold our interest and prevent us giving up.