Staying in Flow

Have you ever wondered what it takes to stay in flow? Have you ever experienced a moment when you are completely immersed in flow - where everything seems to fall into place, where time stands still and you wholeheartedly engage in what you love doing?

Well, why is it that we're unable to attain this state of flow 24/7? Here are a few pointers to remaining in flow.

Skills: Honing ones skills is something that will always make one better at whatever one does. This process never ends. It just gets more refined and acute. A lot of research has gone into the 10 000 hour rule; some say that you need atleast 10 000 hours of practice in order to become a master at something like chess or the violin. I believe this can be shortened depending on how one applies oneself to the task. In other words, how dedicated are you to mastering your craft?

Talents: your talents are what you're naturally good at. These can be formed at a very young age, but they require development and nourishment. Where your talents really come together to enhance your state of flow is where, what you're naturally good at, aligns with what really excites you. What do you enjoy doing and do your talents match nicely with that? They often do align however it can be useful to bring your awareness to any situation when you feel yourself getting drawn away from your core talents, either by people or processes.

Challenge: this is important, because we need challenge to enter a state of flow. But too much of a challenge and you're left feeling overwhelmed or anxious. Too little of a challenge and often you'll be left feeling bored, uninterested and disengaged. So what's the optimum level of challenge for a state of flow to emerge? It's where you're leaning into the challenge with just the right amount of skills to take you through the challenge while growing and learning at the same time.

Mindset: obviously if I don't have certain skills to perform a challenge I'll be left feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, perhaps even a bit angry. But even if I've spent time developing my skills to perform a task, I could still fall into the trap of overwhelm. Doubt could creep into my thinking, I could start to over-think things instead of trusting the process. I could just be overwhelmed by the situation regardless of my skills set. This is where mindset training comes into play. Through awareness I'm able to consciously bring my attention to the present moment and rather than resist the feeling, relax into it. I might take a couple of deep breathes and centre and ground my energy to refocus on the task at hand. This will result in greater clarity and the ability to slip back into flow.

How often do you find yourself in flow - your optimum state of consciousness where time stands still and you're completely captivated by the task at hand, applying your skills and talents to help you break through to the other side?