Let’s be real.\u00a0 \u00a0 You know, like totally real here.\u00a0 No, I’m not going to reveal an inner secret, I do that enough indirectly by these podcasts already.\u00a0 No, I mean let’s discuss the physical world.<\/p>\n
We’ve all heard about inertia and momentum, but few people know the difference.\u00a0 Sure, metaphorically people say “I’m building momentum” but even fewer ever say anything about their inertia.<\/p>\n
What?<\/p>\n
Right.<\/p>\n
So, stay real with me here and then we can go metaphorical…<\/p>\n
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Interesting, eh?\u00a0 Inertia is a measurement of how lazy the system is<\/em>. Literally.\u00a0 It’s literally described as being a measurement of “how lazy a system is.”\u00a0 See where I’m going yet?<\/p>\n An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction\u00a0unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.\u00a0 Meaning, if something is just sitting there, that’s what it’s going to do.\u00a0 If something is moving, that’s what it’s going to keep doing, unless something messes with it.<\/p>\n A big rock is just going to sit there.\u00a0 A paper bag is not, even though they are both sitting there.\u00a0 Why does the bag move?\u00a0 Because it is affected by the external forces easier than the big rock.\u00a0 They are both being pulled upon by gravity, both being randomly pelted by rain, sleet or what we like to call precipitation in Wisconsin, a “wintry mix.”\u00a0 And they both are being accosted by wind.\u00a0 Aha.\u00a0 Because of the lightness of the bag it is less anchored.\u00a0 Because of the surface of the bag, it is subjected to catching the wind.<\/p>\n If you take a picture of a big rock, you can’t tell if its a still day, or the middle of a hurricane unless there’s visible precipitation.\u00a0 However, on a still day the bag lays there, on a windy day its zooming around and now its not in the picture anymore.<\/p>\n A baseball thrown in space at 80 miles an hour is going to keep going through space for a very very long time, at 80 miles an hour.\u00a0 Nothing is messing with it – not air resistance, not gravity, nothing.\u00a0 Sure there are particles it’s going to hit, and microgravity from everything in the universe – a nearby star or planet or moon, but noticeably it just keeps going.\u00a0 Throw that same baseball on Earth and it doesn’t go very far – gravity yanks it down, and air resistance slows it the whole way.\u00a0 A few seconds later it’s just sitting there in the grass.<\/p>\n So in both instances – the unmoving rock and bag, and the moving baseball – are examples of inertia.<\/p>\n So now we are on the same real page, yo.<\/p>\n Some people mistakenly call that momentum;\u00a0 it’s not.\u00a0 It’ inertia, and it’s a perfectly applicable description of how we move through life – metaphorically.<\/p>\n Let’s talk about your inertia.\u00a0 Or rather, inertias<\/em>, because you have a lot of different moving and unmoving things in your life.<\/p>\n Everything in your life has inertia.\u00a0 There are things that have no motion, they just sit there, anchored to your life the way the rock is anchored to the earth.<\/p>\n There are things that are in motion, like the baseball that keeps moving depending on how many external elements start messing with it.<\/p>\n Your job – you get up for work every day at about the same time and do what you need to do to be there.\u00a0 If it’s a job then you probably predictably go home at the same time.\u00a0 If it’s a career then you predictably do NOT go home at the same time, and so forth.\u00a0 It’s in motion.<\/p>\n The same for your relationship – it is in motion, you see your significant other at a certain rhythm or rate.\u00a0 You give it a certain amount of time in your life – a certain amount of effort, and you fit it in with the other things.<\/p>\n There are things in your life that are at rest – they don’t move, they don’t do nothin’.\u00a0 You may say that if they don’t move at all they aren’t even in your life.\u00a0 But they are.\u00a0 There are things in your life that used to move, but no longer do.\u00a0 Things like a workout class you no longer attend because you have kids now.\u00a0 Or a fun hobby you no longer do because you don’t have the time, or the energy to do it any more.\u00a0 Or you used to date, but now you figure it’s just too much effort and being alone is easier.\u00a0 They all sit there, some are like rocks, and some are closer to bags.\u00a0 Most are probably rocks if you’ve already forgotten about them.\u00a0 It will take a lot of time and energy to get that hobby going again, until the it’s just sitting in the ground.<\/p>\n There are a lot of things in your life in motion, and at rest – in fact more than you are aware of.\u00a0 It’s this lack of awareness that keeps them in their current state.\u00a0 In some cases it’s convenient, in other cases it’s not only not<\/em> convenient but kind of harmful.\u00a0 Creating an awareness, or heightening your awareness of these things can only help.<\/p>\n Spend a few minutes thinking about what is at rest<\/em> in your life.\u00a0 Think about all the rocks first.\u00a0 What things are just sitting there and there’s NO way they are gonna move, except for the metaphorical hurricane or worse.\u00a0 Think about the things you used to do, the things you used to be a part of.\u00a0 \u00a0Good and bad.<\/p>\n Then think about all the paper bags.\u00a0 Think about those same kind of things, but not the ones that are so rooted.\u00a0 What about the ones that you could start up again, or rather might just start up on their own due to external forces.\u00a0 Good and bad.<\/p>\n This is not an exercise to make you feel guilty or beat yourself up.\u00a0 Don’t beat yourself up<\/span>.\u00a0 You should be as tired of me saying that as you are of me saying “Time, Energy and Resources\u2122!”\u00a0 The purpose is awareness only.\u00a0 \u00a0The awareness is going to cause you to do the following:<\/p>\n Obviously that awareness and these bullet points can generate a LOT of discussion, internally or with friends – or even with me.\u00a0 If you want to discuss with me, then feel free to write and then call in…<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRocks and bags<\/h2>\n
Your inertia<\/h2>\n
Things in motion in your life<\/h2>\n
Things at rest in your life<\/h2>\n
Awareness<\/h2>\n
Your Homework<\/h3>\n
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