Inertia – Pt. 2

Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 (NIV)

Going downhill anyone?  One might say that doing so could be an exciting ride with the potential for grave developments (pun intended).  Here you are, at the edge of a decision that could affect the rest of your life. Do you take the plunge, or turn back?  Do you buy the business, take on the demanding client, fire the key employee, sellout and retire, or choose from a thousand other pathways?  Doing nothing is still a choice to do something.

We can thank Sir Isaac Newton for describing the three laws of motion: inertia, force-acceleration, and action-reaction.  The first, inertia, in a physical sense is the property of all objects to remain as-is unless acted upon by some other force.  Whether in motion or at rest, we might say that nothing happens until something happens, and then everything changes.

Getting underway with new vision and direction can be as daunting as coming to a halt, or as changing directions while at full speed.  In either event, inertia is the challenge, and this is also true of how we live our lives and run our businesses.  For good or ill, anger, fear, loneliness, distraction, and confusion are the emotions that often drive us.

Anger is often a first response to adversity, challenge, or change, and it is closely linked to the others.  I was lunching with clients at a famous Italian restaurant, enjoying the blessings of a successful business relationship.  After a long conversation over pasta, we walked to the parking lot that had now mostly cleared of cars.  Saying goodbye, I opened the door of my minivan and immediately sensed that something was amiss.  In fact, the right side passenger window had been smashed.

I looked for my laptop – gone.  My digital camera – gone.  My equipment bag, Palm organizer, and several hundred dollars of cash – all gone.  First reaction – anger.  Immediately following, there came the fear of the impact on my small business, the loneliness of feeling violated, the distraction of being derailed from my business plan, and the confusion over what to do next.  I stood at the back of the van and bumped my forehead on the rear window, saying aloud, “What am I going to do?  I’m out of business.”

Of course, I was not.  Thanks to backups, a helpful insurance company, and a great staff of employees, I eventually recovered enough over the next few months to rebuild what was lost.  Nonetheless, anger persisted until a friend confronted me with Philippians 4:6-8, and Romans 8:28, and then the Holy Spirit dealt with me about my arrogant first response.

Anger and its cousins often propel or inhibit our trajectory.  They are motivating forces that need to be directed by the Spirit of God who seeks, at all times, to magnify His name in the world through those who have committed to following Jesus.  As business owners who are Christian, that is a charter that we must take seriously as others look to us for example and leadership.

Are these kinds of emotions keeping you from overcoming inertia, either holding you back or accelerating you in directions that you do not want to go?  In fact, how do you overcome inertia?  Think about it and we will visit this topic one last time, next month, in Part 3.