Flow

I'm just back from a place I haven't been to in a long time. Today, I was in the flow. According to Wikipedia, flow is "the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity." 

Flow is incredibly relaxing, yet energizing at the same time. It creates a feeling of joy. I'm feeling all these things right now.

Although getting into a state of flow is a bit unpredictable, it can happen during almost any activity. I've gotten there during running, playing music, writing, and making art. Today, although I had a list of things to do, I decided that I had a big enough block of time to start working on a task that I'd already procrastinated for a number of years. 


The task is making Kit's Bat Mitzvah book. Years ago, when Harry (now 18) was celebrating Bar Mitzvah (at age 13), I'd come across a great idea: make a scrapbook of photos and "words of wisdom" collected from friends and family. I loved the idea but not the execution of it: choosing photos, deciding on an order, etc. All those decisions, though trivial, created stress and so I didn't work on the book. Time passed. I decided to change the book to a going-away-to-college present and then more time passed and Harry left for school.


Kit's still here though so, the new goal is to finish Kit's book before she leaves in just...ten short months.


Okay, back to flow. Generally, to get there you need three things.

1. An activity with direction and structure. I had that - the goal, of course, is a lovely book to give Kit to both remind her of her younger self and of the friends and family that have been a part of her life - and to give her words of wisdom, and maybe a laugh or two as she peruses it. 
2. The task must also have a balance between the challenge and skills one brings to it. The challenge for me is making all those darn decisions along with letting go and relaxing into believing I can make something that Kit will love to look at and find meaningful. The skills I bring are that I know how to cut and paste, have a treasure trove of quotes both collected for her and that I've been collecting my whole life. And...way back when, I used to take words and turn them into art.
3. The task must have clear and immediate feedback. Unfortunately, I can be my own worst enemy and this is probably what keeps me from achieving this state more often. However, today, I started working and immediately liked the results I was getting. This, of course, spurred me on to work more.


To keep a long story from getting too much longer, I looked up four hours later to find that it was...four hours later! I'd stopped, thinking it was time for lunch - though I wasn't hungry - and found it was hours past my usual lunch time.


So, why am I telling you this? Because I'm convinced that being in this state is one of the absolute best things you can do for yourself. Although I don't have the research to back it up, I believe that letting go of stress this completely, getting to this kind of deep relaxation paired with flow's energizing abilities has got to do wonders for the body, too (just like meditation does). And, why else? Because this kind of joy is what life's all about! I like to ask my clients why they're interested in having good health - of course, for most people it's so they can do the things they love to do (or do things for and with the people they love).


Have you gotten in the flow? What activities get you there?  Please let us know!