In his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
“… completely focused motivation, a single-minded immersion, representing the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. To be caught in the ennui of depression or the agitation of anxiety is to be barred from flow. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task.”
For me, being in this kind of flow is essential to happiness and meaning in life. It means that you are doing what comes naturally to you, what you were meant to do.
How do you stay in the flow? Here are 5 ways that work for me.
1. Meditate. The practice of meditation teaches how to focus awareness of the present and the task at hand.
2. Pay attention. I seem to be constantly preaching on this blog to pay attention to what inspires you and then act on it. To me, acting on your inspirations is essential to being the person you were meant to be. And, anytime you are being totally authentic, you will be in flow.
3. Be of Service. I love the idea that you should align your passions or strengths with what the world needs. Any time you are doing something you love that will also help others, you will be in a state of flow.
4. Play. Engage in an activity just for the fun of it, with no goals or objectives. Play can put you in a state of flow and bring out your creative side too.
5. Eliminate distractions. Foster an atmosphere where flow can exert itself; no phone, no email, no Twitter, no Facebook.
When are you in a state of flow?
Related Resources: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s 18 minute TED Talk on Flow (Does Creativity Make You Happy?)