Deep Dive Dialogues with Dan Woerheide

How to Regain & Maintain Momentum (Without Starting Over)

• Dan Woerheide • Episode 20

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Have you ever felt like you lost momentum and needed to start over from scratch? Maybe you had a great routine going, but then life happened—things got chaotic, distractions crept in, and suddenly, you found yourself off track.

I’ve been there. When I started 75 Hard, I built some incredible daily habits—consistent workouts, hydration, reading, and a strong morning routine. But then I missed a small step, and I had a choice: beat myself up and start over, or recognize the progress I had made and keep going.

In this episode of Deep Dive Dialogues, I dive into the thought-emotion-action cycle—how our thoughts shape our decisions, why we often feel like we need to start from scratch, and how to break that pattern by making small, intentional choices. I’ll also share practical steps to regain momentum without overwhelm, so you can keep moving forward—whether in business, personal growth, or any goal you’re working toward.

Listen in to learn:
-How your thoughts influence your ability to take action
-Why momentum isn’t lost—it’s just paused
-Three simple steps to get back on track without the pressure of starting over

If you’ve been feeling stuck, this episode is for you. Let’s dive in.


Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Deep Dive Dialogues. I'm your host, dan Warheide. Have you ever felt like you've lost momentum and you need to start over from scratch? Maybe you had a great routine going, but then life got in your way and now you're struggling to get back on track. What if I told you that momentum isn't lost, it's simply paused?

Speaker 1:

Today we're going to dive into how the choices we make impact our ability to regain and maintain momentum. I'll be sharing some insights from my experience as a master resiliency trainer and a bit about my own journey, and by the end of this episode I hope that you'll have some practical steps to pick up where you've left off, without feeling like you have to start over. But first I want to jump into today's Mindset Minute segment how to regain and maintain momentum and I'm going to expand on this in today's content. But this is just a little bit of insight If you've not visited this show before. This is a one to three minute segment, if you will, on a particular mindset topic that I'm just kind of playing around with and throwing in at the beginning of these episodes. It's not really thrown in, but I hope you catch my drift. Today, again, is about how to regain and maintain momentum, and I usually share an insight, an example and an actionable step for you as I bring in each of these ideas Again today. I'm going to go a bit more in depth in the content of the episode, but here are the highlights.

Speaker 1:

Momentum is easy to build when things are going well, but what happens when you take a break? We face unexpected chaos or if you feel like you've simply lost your groove. The mistake that I think most people make is believing that they need to start over, and this is a big one. But momentum isn't lost, it's simply paused. Imagine this Imagine you're pushing a heavy boulder. At first it might be tough, but once that boulder starts to move, it takes a lot less energy and effort to keep it moving. But if you stop for a moment, the boulder doesn't roll back to the starting line. It's still there waiting for the next push. It doesn't roll back to the starting line. It's still there waiting for the next push and, depending on how long that break is, if it stops moving, you're going to have to expend a little bit more energy at the beginning before it gains that momentum again, and the same applies to your personal progress, whatever it is that you're doing. So. Here's your actionable step. If you've lost momentum, start small. Instead of only overwhelming yourself with having to move the boulder, with catching up, focus on a quick win. Just get started. A five-minute task, a single outreach or a small action can restart all of your movement. If you're in chaos, then simplify this. Identify one to two things that you truly matter to what you're working on, and commit to just those things. Momentum thrives in consistency, not in the intensity, and the key here is to keep pushing, even lightly, and trust that the momentum is still there, waiting for you to tap back into it.

Speaker 1:

So let me start by talking about a little bit more of my experience. So what I'm going to share is the thought and emotion and the action cycle, and I can't speak again as a podcaster. You think I might have learned by now, right? No? The thought, emotion, action cycle. And I can't speak again as a podcaster. You think I might have learned by now, right? No, the thought, emotion, action cycle.

Speaker 1:

This comes from my experience with positive psychology, which was the foundations of the resiliency training that I provided and that I received in the military. One of the key principles in that training is understanding how our thoughts influence our emotions and our reactions, and it's a powerful cycle when it's broken down. I hope I'm able to communicate this clearly and that you understand why I say that. So, before I jump into any more, I want to explain that it's really a simple process. That is a very powerful experience. So our thoughts shape our emotions and our reactions. So our thoughts shape how we feel and our emotions the how we feel influence how we then act, and our actions are what actually determine our outcomes. I used to share this example when I was in the military, at least in one of my last assignments, because I lived just outside of the DC Beltway and man traffic there can be a nightmare.

Speaker 1:

It's miserable. If you leave just a few minutes later than normal or you get stuck in the middle of the day having to travel somewhere. It can be just an awful experience. What makes it even worse, what potentially makes it even worse, is when you're in that traffic and someone cuts you off. You have probably, and what most might consider a normal reaction If somebody cuts you off in traffic. You've been in line trying to get to that next exit for the last 45 minutes and some guy just pushes right in front of you and makes you wait that much longer. There's lots of things that can go through our minds, lots of different thoughts that we could potentially have.

Speaker 1:

The problem is that what we choose to think about shapes how we feel about those thoughts, and those feelings determine our actions and our actions determine our outcomes. So if that's the beginning of your day, for example, and you choose to be angry, you choose to think about this person as an inconvenience, an inconsiderate jerk. Inconvenience, an inconsiderate jerk, an inconvenience to you and your day. That changes the way we feel about what. The event that just happened, so this activating event, had us think about this in a certain way and our emotions become irritated. We become irritated, we become physically strained. To some extent, you can feel your heartbeat elevate, you can feel your skin get warm to the touch. You're physically angry, emotionally angry, because of this action of another person which, by the way, is outside of our control, outside of our ability to influence which then shapes the actions that we take, and maybe you know that physical anger is the limited action. Maybe you beat your hands on the steering wheel, maybe you flip him off, maybe you decide to get back at him somehow and you know you end up in some sort of God forbid road rage incident, or maybe you work hard to cut him back off or whatever it may be. But you chose that path. You chose to allow someone else's day to influence how your day starts out and probably what impacts the rest of your morning, if not the rest of your day.

Speaker 1:

Let me share another personal example. I've talked about it here before and I've shared in a couple different areas. Back in November I started 75 hard Hard and I developed great daily routines. My mornings were dialed in. I was feeling good. I was consistently exercising for that program twice a day. One of them had to be outside Drinking plenty of water. I was reading daily. I was getting motivational content daily. I was feeling great. Motivation was on high and it was amazing. I was more creative, I was more productive and I felt like I was just more driven overall.

Speaker 1:

But then life happened Just after Thanksgiving some of you have heard this before I missed a simple thing. I missed one of the tasks of a daily progress photo and at that moment I had a simple choice I could choose to beat myself up and feel like I had failed for not making it to the end of that program, or I could have recognized all the progress that I'd made and celebrate what I'd already learned and carry those habits forward. It would have been super simple, super easy for me to let that single misstep define my experience and the outcomes thereafter, but instead I chose to focus on what I could control my thoughts, my emotions and then my actions, continuing the habits that served me well, even without the structure of that challenge. I chose to step away from the challenge and to be okay with what I had already gained and what I had already learned, instead of dwelling in the fact that I didn't complete that program. It's funny.

Speaker 1:

I just had a conversation in a podcasting chat with a group of friends around the same topic. There's a friend of mine and I won't share his name here because it's his story first of all, and I haven't asked for permission to share the personal details, so I'll just leave it as it's a friend's story that he was taking place in a program recently, not 75 hard, but there was certainly some well-defined distinctions that brought some similarities into the conversation between my experiences and this person's experiences, and they were participating in this program and, like me, missed a moment what seemingly could have been a small thing was the topic of conversation because it was much bigger in the moment and trying to make a decision about how to move forward, what to do. Could I move forward and just pretend it didn't happen? Yeah, I could do that. And then who am I really cheating? Because in the case of 75 Hard, I'm not reporting to anyone but me.

Speaker 1:

But I'm a man of integrity and I believe that there are rules for these programs and for me to feel good about continuing, then I would follow the rules, and the rules dictated that if I missed something, no matter how small, of those daily requirements, then I was to start from day one. Or the choice I made was simply carry the lessons I'd learned, carry the habits and other things and routines that I'd picked up, and move forward with the things that made the most sense and continue on without the program. And for the most part I've been able to do that. I have carried much of that with me and I'm going to share a bit more, but not all of that has been successful. Lately there's been more life happening and I am in the midst of working to get back into a routine that makes sense and that feels good, but life happens, and what do we do when those things happen?

Speaker 1:

See, I think most people believe that, when momentum is lost, that we have to go back to square one. It's simply not how that works, though. Again, imagine you're pushing that massive boulder that we talked about in the mindset minute. At first, it takes effort to get moving, but then, once it starts rolling, it's much easier. That's exactly how momentum works in our lives and in our business. When we stop, we don't lose everything we built. We just need to push forward. Again and again.

Speaker 1:

The biggest mistake people make is thinking that they have to start over, when in reality, they just need to take the next step. That I just need to take the next step. So here's some practical steps that you can take to regain momentum. If you're struggling to do that, you know when life throws us off balance I'm going to give you three key steps. So the first step to regain momentum is to acknowledge where you're at, without judgment. Instead of beating yourself up over losing that momentum, over not completing that program, whatever it may be, recognize where you're at and what you still have. I could have let missing that one progress photo define my entire challenge, but instead I focused on the habits and the lessons that I had learned.

Speaker 1:

No-transcript. The next step, next key step, to regaining momentum is to start small. The best way to regain momentum is with small wins. If you've fallen off track, don't overwhelm yourself with everything you should be doing. You can should all over yourself. Don't do that. Instead, start with one quick action. Maybe it's a 10-minute workout instead of an hour-long session. Maybe it's one email or outreach instead of trying to rebuild all of your business relationships at one time.

Speaker 1:

In the world of coaching, this is a conversation that we could certainly have, but looking at one connection at a time, one conversation at a time. Coaching relationships, coaching contracts, agreements are built in a conversation. You are only ever one conversation away from your next great moment. You can only have one conversation at a time that's going to be that meaningful, that deeply impactful for another human being, unless you're speaking to a large audience. When we're talking about one-on-one coaching, you can only have one conversation at a time and trying to think about 30 new clients when, right this moment, you need one or you want one more client, one new client, your first client, one at a time, is how a business is built.

Speaker 1:

Don't try to look at 30 at a time. That becomes overwhelming. Maybe it's a single chapter of a book, instead of forcing yourself to read for an entire hour. For me, it's a minimum of 10 minutes a day. Maybe that's all you need. And let me tell you, those 10 minutes turn into hours some days really easily. Those 10 minutes get me through books. Even if it's just 10 minutes, those 10 minutes create new insights. Insights can be gained in much less time than that. I've been witness to many conversations where an insight that is life-changing has happened inside of three minutes. Small actions create movement and movement creates momentum.

Speaker 1:

Step three to regaining momentum Identify the one to two most important priorities. When life feels like it's chaotic, then simplify what truly matters right now. If you're feeling overwhelmed in your business, what's the one thing that will actually work to move the needle right now? One conversation, one connection, one invitation. Focus on that first. One invitation. Focus on that first.

Speaker 1:

Entrepreneurs often get stuck trying to do all of it at once instead of prioritizing the actions that will have the biggest impact. And I've talked about it here. It's worth saying again you know, getting involved in all of the marketing, all of the social media platforms, all of the podcasting and all the videos and YouTubes and all the things, when what you really need to do to move the needle is to have that next conversation, to make that next invitation, to make that next proposal, to work with you one thing at a time that's actually going to move the needle. Work with you one thing at a time that's actually going to move the needle. So what is one small action you can take today to restart momentum in something where you feel like you're stuck, where you feel like you've lost momentum? Where in your life or business have you convinced yourself that you need to start over, when the reality is you simply need to push forward.

Speaker 1:

I would love to hear your thoughts. If you want to text me, there's a link at the top of this episode. Should be at the top of this episode in your podcast player. It says send a text to Dan. I'd love to hear from you there. Visit podcastdanwus. You can leave me a voicemail there.

Speaker 1:

I'm happy to share it on my episode. If you have a question, I'd love to throw that in there and be able to share that segment on my podcast. Or just let me know what your thoughts are, and, of course, the best thing you can do to help me is to share this episode with someone you think would find it impactful. I'm not specifically looking for, you know, new downloads, so to speak, or new followers, new subscribers for the podcast, new listeners, whatever you want to call it. That's not my main focus. But if you share this with someone else, of course that does help bring more people to call it.

Speaker 1:

That's not my main focus. But if you share this with someone else, of course that does help bring more people to the podcast, and my real goal is to deliver content that I can enjoy, content that's meaningful to me and I hope that is meaningful to you. That's the real joy here for me, in creating this content, the reason I started this show in creating this content, the reason I started this show, and I would love to be able to make a positive impact in yet another person's life. So, yeah, if you know someone who could benefit from hearing this episode, I'd love it if you'd share it with them. Now remember, momentum isn't lost. It's waiting for you to tap back into it. You don't need to start over. You need to take the next step. Thank you so much for tuning in to Deep Dive Dialogues and, until next week, keep making choices that help you to move forward.