Newtons First Law: Words to Live By

"An object in motion stays in motion (and an object at rest stays at rest)"

When I learned about this principle in my high school physics class, it’s was through the lens of force mass and inertia. Today, it feels a lot more personal. This is the same principle that shows up in how we grow, how we stall, and how we decide every single day, whether we’re moving forward or standing still.

I’ve learned that energy and motivation, are not things you magically wake up with (unfortunately). These traits are built. Slowly, often painfully, and usually through the small stuff that doesn’t look impressive on the outside. Sending the email. Going to the gym when you’d rather do ANYTHING else. Starting something before you feel “ready” (spoiler alert: you will never feel ready).

Motion creates more motion. But the opposite is also true: do nothing long enough, and suddenly doing anything feels ten times harder.

We are all too familiar with that overly forgiving little voice in your head: “You’ve done enough today,” or “You can start tomorrow.” To be fair, sometimes rest is earned. But complacency? That’s very different. Complacency is when you stop pushing, not because you’ve done what you needed to do, but because pushing feels inconvenient.

This mindset is rooted in how I was raised. Having immigrant parents meant opportunities weren’t treated casually. Everything was a privilege. Education, work, trying out for my high school swim team, it all carried weight within my family. Not in a stressful, pressure-filled way, but in a grounded, "you only get one first shot at anything" kind of way. And when you grow up with that, you start to see action differently. I owe it to my parents to do well, work hard, and make their move to this country well worth the adversity they faced in doing so.

That doesn’t mean every day is perfect. Far from it. Some days, the “person in motion” looks more like a person aggressively negotiating with herself to get out of bed. But it still counts!

You become disciplined by doing disciplined things, repeatedly, until it becomes part of who you are. The path is made by walking.

And here’s the thing: once you get moving, it gets easier to stay moving. Not effortless, but easier. You get better at pushing through the resistance, silencing that inner voice, and building personal case studies. "I did X hard thing, I can do this too". You prove, over and over again, that you can follow through.

That’s the kind of growth I’m chasing. Staying in motion, even when it’s inconvenient. Especially when it’s inconvenient. When I look back on my life in fifty years, I’d rather be the person who kept going (imperfectly) than the one who stayed comfortable and wondered what could’ve been.