Embracing Momentum Shifts: The Surprising Benefits of Losing Steam

We all have seen the following quotes: 

• “Momentum is everything”
• “Ride the momentum as much as possible”
• “Don’t lose your momentum”

These are all good quotes and they are important to follow, but there is another side of this. 

Let me share some of my experiences playing basketball, tennis and table tennis. I played in high school and and in local competitions throughout my life. When I was 10 years old, I broke my right wrist playing soccer and I had to wear a cast for at least 30 days. This was during a busy summer season when my friends and I would play a lot of table tennis and table tennis was one of my top three favorite sports. I lost the momentum and I was sitting on the side lines watching my friends play. 

My competitive nature did not allow me to sit on the side lines for long and I decided to learn to play table tennis with my left hand. Initially it was a tough journey but I pushed myself. In 2-3 weeks I was able to reach the average level and by the time I took the cast off and got the clearance from my doctor to be able to play with my right hand, I already reached a good enough level with my left hand that I was contemplating which hand to use to play in our summer games. I decided to go back to my dominant hand (right hand) and I re-injured the wrist playing table tennis. This pushed me enough over the edge to ultimately and officially switch to my left hand for good. I improved my game with my left hand more and more reaching the level where I was a top player. The reality is that I was slightly above average with my dominant right hand, but switching to my left hand made me a better player. To this day I still play with my non-dominant hand (left hand) and I have won multiple amateur tournaments. 

What did I learn from this and why did I become better in table tennis playing with my non-dominant hand?

A lot of times when you re-learn a skill, you are that much wiser, and more importantly certain bad habits will naturally be forgotten. A loss of momentum is what you need to unlearn the bad habits. This was also true in with my basketball and tennis skills. Every time I took a break and came back to the sport, I realized I needed to get that timing and IQ back, but I also realized that a lot of my bad habits disappeared which in turn made me a better player. 

Of course, I will tie this back to the field of software engineering because I like to geek out about it. I spent a significant part of my career coding in C and C++. Then switching to C# and a bit of Java made re-think and re-learn some of the concepts, and it made me a better engineer. Learning Python and NodeJS took this skill of re-thinking and re-learning to another level and gave me a totally different perspective. Similarly, changing different leadership styles and different software development methodologies exercises your brain differently and ultimately makes you a better software engineer and a better problem solver. 

In conclusion,

• Sometimes what we think is good for us is actually bad for us. 
• Sometimes what we think is bad for us might actually be very good for us. 

Go out there and lose that momentum. Kidding…. Keep the momentum but when you eventually lose it, take it to your advantage. In essence, losing momentum isn't always a setback; it's an opportunity for renewal and refinement. 

Embrace the shifts, keep evolving, and never stop geeking out!

Almir Mustafic