Be a Momentum Shift for Someone Else
By Steve Gahagen
I find the dramatic momentum shifts in football fascinating. One team can be dominating another and the end seems to be a foregone conclusion. But then there is a turnover, a fumble, or interception and suddenly the momentum shifts. It’s like the teams went into the locker room and switched uniforms. The team that had been dominated becomes energized and confident. It’s just the opposite for the team that fades as if exposed to kryptonite.
I have heard momentum referred to as the “Big Mo” or “Great Exaggerator” because if you have it, everything good has an exponential return. An organization without momentum can do great work but with little effect. Momentum is not only an important factor in sports, but also in an organization and even in someone’s life. Momentum can be seized at tipping points, as described by Malcolm Gladwell.
There are a lot of young people who need a tipping point or momentum shift. When asked to finish this sentence, “I would like more …”, many young people say, “money.” Many adults would say the same. Plenty of people dream about winning the lottery and how that could be a tipping point to create positive personal momentum. Not only is this scenario unlikely, even if it did occur it might not lead to the utopia envisioned.
The momentum shift for most people, and especially young people, is often a person - a person who comes into their life and fills them with confidence, hope, dreams, and perspective. After having 100 percent of his body burned in a house fire, a nine-year-old John O’Leary had a few key people come into his life who would not allow him to feel sorry for himself and pushed him to overcome. They even forced him to write thank you notes and practice the piano though his fingers were mostly gone. There are countless stories of people whose life momentum shifted when a key person entered their life.
We know that mentors can have a transforming impact on young people. It could be a teacher, a youth pastor, a business coach, or an older person who has life experiences to share. Often the most powerful element is not a particular teaching the mentor has shared, but that they kept showing up and cared.
Madie Hubert, our Youth and Schools Program Director, recently met for coffee with a 15-year-old girl we had connected with through our local middle school Mentoring Club. She shared how the last three years had been difficult for her as she navigated being homeless and, at one point, was hospitalized for trying to harm herself. She indicated that she was now in a different place, in part, because our team at Play To Your Strengths was consistently there, building a relationship with her. The momentum of her life has changed.
Would you become the momentum shift or tipping point for someone else?
Application Thoughts:
Think of two key people who created positive momentum for you. Write them a note.
Outside of your family, what young people are you investing in to help them have the best shot of fulfilling their potential?
What could you teach them? What doors could you open for them?