Build unstoppable momentum with a tiny first domino

Momentum looks magical from the outside, but it’s built from small, linked moves. Physicists show a domino can knock down a slightly larger one, creating a geometric cascade. In work and life, the same thing happens when you choose a tiny, high‑leverage move that naturally sets up the next. The trick isn’t force, it’s sequence.

Consider a nonprofit coordinator facing a complex grant. The deadline looms, email pings multiply, and the office coffee tastes burned. She writes one sentence: “Submit the grant by Friday.” Then she picks the first domino: open last year’s template and list the required attachments. As she types the list, the next two dominoes appear: draft the summary paragraph and message the treasurer for updated budget numbers.

By lunch, half the uncertainty is gone. A small anecdote: a guitarist agreed to “just tune the guitar” daily. The guitar case clicks open, and five minutes later he’s playing scales. Tuning is the first domino. Practice follows without much willpower.

The science here blends physics with behavioral momentum. Starting reduces activation energy, the initial psychological cost to begin. Each tiny win releases dopamine, increasing the likelihood of the next action. When steps are sequenced and visible on a streak tracker, you harness consistency bias—the human tendency to act in line with recent commitments. Small, well‑placed dominoes topple surprisingly large goals.

State your true finish line in one clean sentence so you know what you’re aiming at. Then pick the smallest starter move that naturally unlocks the next step, and write down the next two dominoes you’ll tip immediately after. Clear ten quiet minutes, tip the first one, and let the sequence pull you forward. Each day you do this, mark a bold X where you’ll see it. Protect the streak like a promise to yourself and let the chain grow. Try it with one project this afternoon.