Flywheels store up mechanical energy, and let you use it in a different way. They are big and heavy, and hard to get going. Once up and spinning, they’ll keep going with only small and regular top-ups.
If you are attempting to drive change, either personal, organisational or societal, then much like a flywheel, starting will be the hardest thing.
A great and tumultuous effort might just be enough to nudge the wheel forwards a tiny bit, but if left there it will quickly settle down to stillness once more.
One large effort is not enough. Nor will sporadic and unplanned pushes work, too much will go into getting the turning started, rather than speeding it up.
The large push will be exhausting, but sometimes that’s worth doing to get going. To then drive the change to completion, use a strategy that builds momentum.
Find the repeatable efforts that you can maintain over the long run. Engage daily or weekly, make it a routine part of your schedule. Get to the point where it’s something you miss if you don’t do it. Setup some larger efforts, with time to plan before and recover after.
Change is hard, so be smart about building up that energy, and use it for good!
7 replies on “Flywheel of Change”
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