Making Momentum in the Muddy Middle

Youth is about constant change. You’re growing and changing almost daily. Life around you changes as you fly the nest, take on new responsibilities and gain new skills.

Between leaving home, moving around for school and work, getting married and starting a family, the first 30 years of my life were marked by frequent exciting changes. Always something new around the corner.

But now 12 years later, life spent adulting feels much the same as it did at 30. Kids are growing of course, but we’re in the same house, same town, same family (i.e., no more new babies).

While settling down is comforting, this sameness across the years in adult life also contributes to the consistent slump in happiness and well-being observed in humans all over the world.

Daniel Pink discusses this midpoint phenomenon in his latest book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.

People tend to cut more corners in the middle of a task or project and slack off more often in the middle of a sequence of just about anything, from fitness training regimens to Hanukkah candle lighting rituals.

We’re motivated at the beginning and when we see the finish line at the end.

But middles are notoriously fraught.

Since about all of us are in the muddy middle in our financial lives, the same logic applies.

We’re chugging along paying the bills and trying to do most of the right things with our money. But the midpoint phenomenon is working here too—it feels like we still have more time, so we procrastinate. And the early motivation to make changes or hit certain goals waned months or years ago.

First, it helps to simply acknowledge the ubiquity of this phenomenon and become aware of it. Second, we need to implement thoughtful tactics to turn slumps into sparks.

A few suggestions in Pink’s book apply here, like setting small “milestone” interim goals. This works well for debt payoff goals. It will still be years until our mortgage is paid off, but acknowledging every $10K that disappears off the balance with a high five, and perhaps a nice dinner out for every $50K, helps spark continued commitment to the process.

It also helps to publicly commit to interim goals that you set to increase accountability. This is especially true for Obligers, per Gretchen Rubin’s matrix of how people respond differently to expectations (hint: most people fall into the Obliger category and benefit from outside accountability).

Another tactic is called “don’t break the chain,” made famous by Jerry Seinfeld’s method for committing to writing jokes every single day. As he fills a calendar with Xs for every day he writes, a chain forms and the goal is to never break the chain. Use this for committing to habits like monthly savings.

Lastly, remember your big picture vision and goals. Keeping the greater purpose in mind always helps create fresh momentum.

Are your habits with money slowing down your goals, falling prey to the muddy middle effect? What can you do to create fresh momentum?