First Law of Motion and Personal Change

Newton's first law states that, if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force.

This law is also closely related to the law of personal change. We will continue to get the same results, desirable or undesirable, unless some force forces us to act differently. What is this force that forces us act differently. This force is motivation.

Let's take an example of a boy who had been consistently getting A's in his academics for last four years. Then, suddenly his performance starts becoming average. When we investigate the reasons of this poor performance we find that his motivations have changed from academics to watching movies. This leads him to spend less time on studies and more time on movies.

Let's take the opposite of the same case. A student has been consistently performing average in his academics for last four years. Then he happens to watch an interview of a civil servant who was an average student. The civil servant shares how he is able to serve the society while having a wonderful career. This interview inspires the boy. The boy determines to spend more time on his studies. Consequently, his performance in academics becomes better.

If you aspire to bring positive change in your personal life, the following steps will help you:

1. Ask yourself if you are moving in the direction of your goal. If not, try to find out the force (motivation) that puts you in motion in the direction of your goal.

2. Ask yourself if you are moving in the direction of your goal consistently. If you move in the direction of your goal inconsistently, try to be consistent by following a strict schedule.

3. Ask yourself if you are moving in the direction of your goal consistently. If you move in the direction of your goal consistently, figure out the possible forces (distractions) that may derail you from the track of success or cause inconsistency. Resolve not to fall prey to the distractions.

Identification of right and wrong forces is important to set you in motion in the direction of your goal and avoid to get distracted respectively.