Being a published author had always been important to Alex. It was a solid item on his dream board for years. He would envision what the book looked like: a sophisticated, attractive cover, an inviting title, and a subtitle that promised real results. He imagined what it would feel like to see his book on the shelves at the local bookstore, and how awesome it would be to sign books and interact with readers after a Q&A session. And it wasn’t a vanity project either. Writing was something that brought him a lot of joy. Immersing deep in the world of ideas, explaining complex research and concepts for practical application, and using words — the way an artist uses colors to paint new images — to bring to life new ideas and inspiration.
You can imagine the excitement when his first book was published! It was everything he expected and more! After an intense couple of years of researching, writing, editing, and proofing in repeated loops, his efforts had paid off. It was time to rest and take it all in.
He promised himself that he would start working on the sequel soon. He had a few ideas about what to write next. But not yet. He needed to enjoy the fruits of his labor a little longer. He was in a good place. He had proof he could manage writing a book. He stopped questioning his ability. Any symptoms of impostor syndrome he had before the book went public went away. What also went away was his momentum. His writing became sporadic. His research was erratic. His ideas started multiplying and overwhelming him. He continued to reassure himself that he got this; he’d pick up when he was ready.
Life after the big win
As time went on, Alex was stalled. No new book, not even a solid outline. He started wondering whether his first book would be his only book. He’d be the one-hit wonder, assuming the first and only book was even a hit, which Alex started doubting. As more years went by, the impostor feelings returned. His confidence eroded. He wasn’t sure he had what it took to write anything worthwhile. None of his ideas seemed novel or inspiring anymore. It’s all been said and done before. Alex had lost his momentum.
Psychological momentum is an internal power generator that boosts a person’s beliefs about their efficacy, competence, and probability of future success. Often referred to as the success-breeds-success principle, it is an important component of what sustains effort in the pursuit of a challenging goal. You can read more about momentum and the research that supports it in my post Why Momentum Matters More than Motivation.
Alex did what most of us do after a big win that takes everything we’ve got. He rested on his laurels. He stopped writing as often, and what he wrote he kept mostly to himself. He wasn’t putting much content out there. He wasn’t testing new ideas and wasn’t getting any feedback from followers. Resting on his laurels way too long undercut his momentum. And without momentum, he became complacent.
Complacency isn’t laziness or overconfidence. It is a false sense of security and comfort that’s supported by the belief that if you’ve been successful in the past, you’ll continue to be successful in the future. So, you can rest on your laurels, assured that future success is guaranteed. Complacency isn’t unique to authors like Alex. It applies to many different situations and life goals. Someone who’s at risk of being laid off may think: “I’ve been able to find a job easily in the past; it will be easy to find another job in the future.” Someone who gained an uncomfortable amount of weight may say, “I’ve lost weight before; I can lose it again when I’m ready.” Perhaps Alex was thinking, “I had a book published; I’m sure I can have another one published.”
But here’s the glitch. Momentum relies on a self-reinforcing loop of effort and progress: you work towards a goal, you see progress, you feel confident and optimistic, you keep working toward the goal, you make more progress, and so on. But after a big win — after unexpectedly making a lot of progress — people ease up on effort. Research shows that such big wins could make a person reduce effort on the goal at hand and drift toward other goals. The momentum loop stalls. When you ease up on effort, you slow down progress, and you lose momentum. After his big win of publishing a book, Alex rested on his laurels longer than was necessary to keep the momentum going. The big win faded into the past and wasn’t powerful enough to keep his engine going.
Reigniting momentum
So, what can you do to keep the momentum going, even after a big win?
Alex’s book is still the only one on his shelf for now. But complacency isn’t a life sentence. The moment he starts writing his one page a week, the sequel stops being a someday idea and starts becoming a new big win.
by Theo Tsaousides Ph.D.
Source: psychologytoday.com
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