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\u2019t 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 \u2014 the way an artist uses colors to paint new images \u2014 to bring to life new ideas and inspiration.<\/p>\n
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, proofing, in repeated loops, his efforts had paid off. It was time to rest and take it all in. <\/p>\n
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<\/a> 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\u2019ll pick up when he\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n Life after the big win<\/p>\n 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\u2019d 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<\/a> eroded. He wasn\u2019t sure he had what it took to write anything worthwhile. None of his ideas seemed novel or inspiring anymore. It\u2019s all been said and done before. Alex had lost his momentum.<\/p>\n Psychological momentum is an internal power-generator that boosts a person\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alex did what most of us do after a big win that takes everything we\u2019ve got. He rested on his laurels. He stopped writing as often, and what he wrote he kept mostly to himself. He wasn\u2019t putting much content out there. He wasn\u2019t testing new ideas and wasn\u2019t getting any feedback from followers. Resting on his laurels way too long undercut his momentum. And without momentum, he became complacent. <\/p>\n Complacency isn\u2019t laziness or overconfidence. It is a false sense of security and comfort that\u2019s supported by the belief that if you\u2019ve been successful in the past, you\u2019ll continue to be successful in the future. So, you can rest on your laurels, assured that future success is guaranteed. Complacency isn\u2019t unique to authors, like Alex. It applies to many different situations and life goals<\/a>. Someone who\u2019s at risk of being laid off may think: \u201cI\u2019ve been able to find a job easily in the past, it will be easy to find another job in the future.\u201d Someone who gained an uncomfortable amount of weight may say, \u201cI\u2019ve lost weight before, I can lose it again when I\u2019m ready.\u201d Perhaps Alex was thinking, \u201cI had a book published, I\u2019m sure I can have another one published.\u201d<\/p>\n But here\u2019s 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<\/a>, you keep working toward the goal, you make more progress, and so on. But after a big win \u2014 after unexpectedly making a lot of progress \u2014 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 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\u2019t powerful enough to keep his engine going. <\/p>\n Reigniting momentum<\/p>\n So, what can you do to keep the momentum going, even after a big win?<\/p>\n Celebrate the big wins. They are well-deserved products of your efforts. Accept the laurel, frame it, show it off. Celebrating the big win doesn\u2019t translate into complacency. It implies acknowledgment. The idea behind the resting-on-laurels effect is not to minimize your accomplishments. It is to use them as springboards and to be mindful<\/a> that they don\u2019t become traps. 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Being a published author had always been important to Alex. 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\nDesign small wins. Small wins are low-effort milestones toward a bigger goal. My suggestion is to create wins that are effort-based instead of outcome-based. Defining \u201cwins\u201d as doing the work protects you from linking your self-efficacy<\/a> to uncontrollable factors that determine outcomes. For example, if landing a stimulating job is your goal, small wins could include doing specific job searches, completing applications, or targeted networking. If losing weight is the goal, small wins could be skipping dessert or picking up your pace during a walk for exercise. You may wonder, are effort-based wins real victories? They may not feel like victories in the moment, but they are proof that you\u2019re playing the long game.
\nDevelop consistency. I\u2019m sure this is not the first time you’ve heard about this, but the importance of consistency in building routines and habits that promote progress toward a goal cannot be overstated. Whatever actions you identified as important steps to move closer to a goal, turn them into planned activities. You may have also heard that building a consistent habit takes 30 days or 400 hours or something like that, but the truth is that consistency can take a single second. The moment you make a firm decision to commit to small wins, the wheels begin to turn, and planning and execution will flow easily. If Alex had been writing one page a week, after his book was published, he would have 520 pages of material after his decade of resting on his laurels.<\/p>\n