Find your flow…………

My flow is hanging out and laughing with my little piggy mate

What if I told you I knew of something that would reduce your stress, make you happier, stop you comparing yourself to others, leave you feeling fulfilled and was definitely within your budget and your reach? Would you be interested? I know I would. Well I think I have found it. Is it in a book? A pill? A CD? Or is it a message delivered by a mystical guru at some overpriced seminar? NO! Surely there cannot be a “one size fits all” solution? Well, what if I told you that this will suit you and your individual needs? What to know more? Okay, I will let you in on a little secret. Positive psychology calls this phenomenon “flow”. Back in the day we used to strive to find “our groove, “our thing”. We would look for harmony, Zen, our passion or enlightenment. Well look no further, you have now found “flow”.
Flow is when we find ourselves doing a positive activity that we feel completely absorbed in; we are at one with an activity. We are so focussed and captivated that we lose our sense of self, we are in a state of thorough enjoyment and we are completely engaged. All other problems and mind chatter melt away and we are totally present in that activity. Studies have shown a direct correlation to the amount of flow in your life and the amount of happiness in your life. So if Flow makes us happier why wouldn’t we try to get as much of it as we can? We all have activities in life that give us flow. It may be at work, at play, in our favourite hobby or even in a chore. For each of us it will be different.
The beauty about flow is that it is also a great guide to let us know who we really are, it is like our soul letting us know, “This is the real you” “This is where you should be”. So many of us struggle to know who we are and what we want from life. We get so caught up in the daily grind that we lose our true selves. Flow is our inner voice, our inner guru telling us “This is the authentic you, this is what you are meant to be doing”. So what activities do you do that put you in the Flow/Zen moment? The beauty about Flow is that it is completely individual to you. Some may experience flow when running and some may experience it when teaching, many experience it when reading, gardening, cooking or painting and many of us find it by helping others. Try to think of times when you experience Flow. Maybe even make a list. I suppose the trick is to try to get as many moments of flow into our life as possible. The first step is to look for and recognise which activities gives you flow, the second step is try to replicate these moments as often as possible and the third step is to be grateful for and revel in your new found increased happiness.
What creates flow in your life? Please share, I would love to hear from you………..