You’re probably familiar with Newton's First Law of Motion — “An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by a sum of physical forces.”

This is the behavior of an average employee at work today. As long as they have a job, they usually won't take any risks, cause any controversy, or raise their hand at a meeting to disagree or propose a new idea.

They are an "object at rest". And this employee/object will remain at rest (meaning - no movement - no raises, no promotions, no new projects, no GROWTH) until "a sum of physical forces" are acted upon it.

What are those forces? Your industry, your customers, your investors or YOUR BOSS. They will be the force that will make the decision "act upon you". Most likely, if you have been "at rest" for a very long time and these forces are negative (lost customers, no profits, reduction in staff), they are probably going to look at the "objects" that aren't doing anything substantial (like hiding in their cubicles).

How do you solve this dilemma? START MOVING. Don't be that object at rest. Here are some suggestions:

Start asking for more work. Any boss would love the help and it would clearly define you from the rest of your peers. And don’t ask for the ‘same old stuff’ — ask for more complex work and projects that will expose you to new people.
Start connecting with key players outside of work. Get out there and see if there is something better than what you currently have. Choose people that are leaders in your area, people who you’d LOVE to meet.
Start brainstorming. This is the time to come up with game-changing strategies or ideas to help your company. Don’t be afraid — most great ideas come from lowly beginnings.
Start thinking about your future. Where are you? Where do you want to go? How do you get there? Make a plan — add steps, activities, and tasks. No successful journey ever started without a roadmap.

Bottom line: It’s the beginning of a new decade - so many companies and managers will be looking at their troops to see who will make a difference. Don't be an object at rest - start MOVING!