Post #3

Almost every self-help book will talk to you about something called the flow state. James Clear says it’s when your skill level matches perfectly to the required skill of the task. I see flow as being in the zone, not thinking as much as doing. Blissfully engaged.

You’ll hit flow when you’re playing tennis with someone who is equally matched to you. 

You’ll hit flow on a work project when you’re in the middle of a technical and creative surge, where you align the numbers and the analysis perfectly. 

You’ll hit flow when you’re performing your well rehearsed dance in front of a crowd. 

Truthfully, I rarely hit the flow state in my day to day life. It’s frustrating, because I want it so bad!

Until last night. I was standing around talking to schoolmates and friends between a break for my MBA class, and I didn’t realize it in the moment, but I was in flow. I was telling stories about what I was up to, asking people to catch me up on their lives, bringing more and more people in to the conversation. This moment was when I felt in the zone. 

The learning: When thinking about getting into the flow state, don’t just think of solitary or sports activities, think about what you really love doing and reverse engineer that state. 

PK