I think we’re all familiar with Newton’s laws of motion, his
claim to fame. According to Newton’s first law of motion “An object remains in
a state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to
change that state by an applied force”. In other words, all objects resist a
change in their state of motion.
In a qualitative way, the tendency of undisturbed objects to
stay at rest or to keep moving with the same velocity is called INERTIA.
Some of you might be wondering why I’m talking physics.
Being a student with a science background, it may seem like a natural thing but
to be honest, Physics was never my cup of tea( or coffee). No, I hated physics.
But there is definitely something beautiful about how we can apply almost every
theory or law, be it einstein’s theory of relativity or Galileo’s
contributions- everything can be applied to our daily lives.
One such law that interests me particularly is Newton’s law
of inertia. How many times have we faced a block in our lives?
Be it a writer’s block (something I am most familiar with
though I don’t make any false claims about being a writer), or a mid-life
crisis, and in some cases a quarter life crisis. We’re managing crises day by
day, and some of us, nay, most of us feel like we’re stuck in something we
can’t maneuver out of in a jiffy. Most of the times, we’re blocked and a state
of inertia sets in wherein we give up and stay put- conveniently comfortable
with the state of affairs.
Now as Newton said, A force at this time becomes necessary
to compel the object (in this case, us) to get moving. How to break the status
quo? Force! And where does this force get generated? Here’s the interesting
part- from within. This may be a blasphemy for all the physics lovers out there,
because it contradicts a lot of laws and theories which will never recognize
how a body can generate force on its own, but this is something I do believe
in. In my own opinion, the best way to get out of an inertia-like state is to
motivate yourself and find that drive. You have to question yourself- what
drives you? It could be as simple as a granola bar, or a long motivational chat
with a friend, even an unlikely inspiration or a desire to attain a long term
goal. Anything that gets us moving, keeps us going and gives us a sense of
purpose or direction.
For me, what works always is a little bit of introspection.
A look within, to figure out what it is that I want- be it
short term or long term. Ultimately this becomes a driving force and I find
myself moving after a long and numbingly comfortable hiatus.
Before signing off, I’d like to say that make whatever works
work for you, but get moving. Life is too short to be wasted.
May the force be with you!
