Once you know how Mo(mentum) works, you’ll find fantastic opportunities arise for you and your kids.
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I admit it. I’m a College Football fanatic, but probably not what most people would consider the typical football fanatic because I don’t exactly fit the gender or burliness profile you might conjure up in your mind from the typical fans in the television commercials.
When I think about my alma mater’s football season and the national championship game, I can’t help but to wonder how the Law of the Big Mo (Mo is short for momentum) in John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, came into play so many times in propelling them to a winning season.
And how this same law can affect a win with your children. Once you learn of the Big Mo, I think you’ll agree applying this theory to parenting is a reasonable transition to make.
So what’s the Big Mo?
As John Maxwell explains about the Big Mo, “Many times momentum is the only thing that makes the difference between winning and losing.” He also states, “Momentum is a leader’s best friend.” I certainly saw those two statements come to life as I reflected back on my football team’s successful season.
It’s not hard to see that in a football game, even if one team is down by 21 points, the team in the lead NEVER wants to experience a momentum shift to the other team that can be gained with an intercepted ball, a costly fumble, or a 90 yard run back for a score.
Those kinds of momentum shifts have proven to be, time and time again, the events that have made the difference between winning and losing. For the coach trying to make a comeback, the momentum shift becomes his best friend.
When that shift takes place is when the team really needs to pour it on and take advantage of their newly-found momentum to keep on making great plays and scoring more points.
That’s exactly what John Maxwell is teaching with the Law of the Big Mo when he says that momentum is the great aggressor. So how does this law apply to parenting? Read on.
Football momentum a.k.a. parenting momentum
Three characteristics of momentum can be considered.
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Where momentum is concerned, the initial work is the toughest.
Parenting can seem like a lonely business sometimes filled with days of repetitive tasks. It often doesn’t take long before you can feel burned out and bored with things that are just so “daily. ”When those feelings come, that’s exactly the time to create some shifts in the momentum. Intentionally planning things to do with your kids that create great memories are just the cure you need. Making the effort to think of meaningful things to do with them, planning and then actually executing these plans can be hard work in the beginning. But the good news is the initial work is the hardest. Once you have established some positive family habits that are both meaningful and rewarding and you make them a regular part of your family experiences, you begin to gain momentum in intentionally engaging in these kinds of experiences. They begin to be woven into the very fabric of your life as a parent, and the momentum shifts in your favor for planning even more unique and enjoyable times together.
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Momentum is a powerful change agent.
Once you’ve created momentum in the intentional choices and plans you make as a parent with your kids, you start to find that the momentum itself makes it so much easier to change things you’ve perhaps always wanted to change. For example, maybe you’ve always dreamed of taking your family on a “get back to nature” trip, but every time you thought about it, no definite plans ever came together because you just didn’t have enough familiar experiences with nature trips to take the first step in the planning process. But if you start planning a few weekend excursions on a smaller scale, you can gain some confidence and momentum for a bigger undertaking.
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Momentum is the parent’s responsibility.
I get it. Our lives are extremely busy. We have our work. Our personal obligations and just life in general occupy our time and mental energy. But as parents, if we want to create lasting positive memories and experiences for our kids, it’s ultimately our responsibility to foster them. Taking advantage of baby steps and small wins in planning and building memories, allows us to create the momentum to do even more significant and long-lasting things with our kids.
As a parent, when months of preparation and hard work start paying off and things seem to be zooming along with success and few obstacles, it’s important to remember that that’s the time to kick it up a notch and use the secrets of the Big Mo to make even more progress and achieve even higher levels of success.
Our kids are worth it.
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