After several attempts to get her business off the ground, Ariella hit a wall. This wall wasn’t a specific obstacle she could break down and deal with. This wall was different. It was a vague but powerful feeling that permeated all her senses and made her feel heavy, drained, and dejected.
Unable to make the progress she hoped for, she started questioning her potential: I am lazy and undisciplined. I lack commitment. I don’t have what it takes. It’s never going to work.
Seeing no change in the trajectory of her business, Ariella entered a state of stagnation. Her energy depleted, her confidence eroded, and her sense of hope vanished. When in stagnation, change doesn’t feel difficult; it feels impossible.
You could say that Ariella lost her motivation. But this isn’t the case. What Ariella lost is momentum.
What Is Psychological Momentum?
Momentum is a concept psychologists borrowed from physics. In physics, momentum is a property of a moving object defined by its mass and velocity—how heavy it is and how fast it is moving. Another way to think about it is that momentum refers to how difficult it is to stop a moving object. For example, if thrown at the same speed, a tennis ball is much harder to stop than a Nerf ball, because while they look the same size, the tennis ball has more mass, and therefore more momentum. More momentum makes you more unstoppable. Less momentum makes it easier to come to a standstill.
While psychological momentum isn’t defined by how much a person weighs or how fast they walk, the metaphor still works. Psychological momentum is about movement, but toward what? Let’s see how it’s been applied to human performance.
Different definitions of psychological momentum exist in the literature, with researchers approaching it from various angles: a perception, a motivational force, a performance effect, or a self-reinforcing expectancy. For example, Iso-Ahola and Dotson (2014) define it as “an added or gained psychological power that changes a person’s view of him/herself or of others, or others’ view of him/her and themselves.” What they’re saying is that momentum is a psychological experience that affects self-perception.
What’s the psychological experience that affects self-perception? Briki and Markman (2018) provide more context: “the cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to perceptions of progress moving toward or away from a goal state.” They define momentum as the psychological impact of the perception of progress. Psychological momentum is about movement toward a goal. Perceiving progress toward a goal affects how we feel, how we think about the probability of future success, and what we do next.
Is momentum a useful concept? Let’s explore it further.
Does Success Breed Success?
Research on psychological momentum across different domains, like sports, business, and academic performance, has shown that early success is related to more successes down the road. For example, in a landmark study of competitive racquetball players, Iso-Ahola and Blanchard (1986) found that players who won the first game were significantly more likely to win the second game as well.
You could argue that the first-round winners were simply better players, so it’s no surprise that success breeds success. Here’s what’s interesting, though. After the first game, the researchers asked all players to answer three questions: How likely are you to win the next game, how do you compare to your opponent in terms of who’s a better player, and how confident are you that you have what it takes to win the next game?
The responses between winners and losers were overwhelmingly different. First-game winners predicted they would certainly win the next game, perceived themselves as better players than their opponents, and were confident they had what it takes to keep winning. That first win did something for winners that it didn’t do for losers. It created psychological momentum.
So, does success breed success? Not directly. What it does is create a perception of efficacy, competence, and possibility that improves subsequent performance. This perception affects how we feel, how we think, and what we do. It enables us to be more focused, more deliberate, more perceptive, more open to feedback, more diligent, and yes, more motivated. The reason we “win the next game” is because we gain psychological momentum, we feel empowered, and we become unstoppable.
Motivation Essential Reads
Outside the racquetball court, momentum means that when we perceive making progress toward a goal—whether the goal is to win a championship, build a successful business, or write a bestseller—we stick to the plan and continue to pursue the goal. Momentum energizes and sustains effort.
But not always. There’s a flip side. Psychological momentum can be positive or negative. While success breeds success, failure can also breed failure. Again, not directly, but by quietly influencing our self-perception. A series of unsuccessful attempts to achieve a desired outcome makes us aware that we’re not making progress. We begin to question our ability to see it through and doubt the likelihood of success. That’s when we start to lose momentum. Just like the tennis ball loses momentum after it’s thrown and will eventually fall on the ground, negative momentum gradually slows us down, we drop the ball, and we reach a state of stagnation.
The Verdict
Ariella didn’t lose her motivation. She lost momentum. Her desire to move her business to the next level wasn’t happening. Realizing she isn’t making progress toward that goal made her feel disappointed, confused, and drained. She felt unable to come up with creative solutions, kept postponing decisions, and was putting less effort into making her business grow.
Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, her perception that she was not making progress became a reality. She entered a state of stagnation. And paradoxically, if her motivation remains high—that is, if she still craves success—the stagnation is going to be even more painful.
Momentum is a lens worth looking through, especially if you’re invested in pursuing your goals. Most people feel it, without ever naming it. Momentum explains how we experience success, how we sustain motivation, and how we stall. And understanding it is the first practical step in knowing what to do with it.
When you think about something you’re currently working toward, can you feel whether your momentum is helping you move forward—or is it dragging you down?
