Achieving Flow

You hear the stories of the basketball player being in the zone where the basket enlarges in size. The performing artist goes almost into an unconscious state where creativity and inspiration flourish. The so-called creator becomes immersed into his or her work where time passes without notice and excellence results. We all aspire to achieve these feelings and consequently struggle to uncover the passions that supposedly provide the fertile ground for these feelings to germinate.

The social media influencers and self-help gurus refer to these events as achieving flow. Although I’ve never sought flow by design, the though of achieving these feelings of vocational or avocational rapture are enticing. Recently I felt a period of momentary, extreme joy when all the things I’ve been thinking about and working on seemed to collide in a symbiotic way. My ongoing efforts to advance my fitness, decide how I want to spend my free time, and define a future direction for my career simultaneously achieved levels of objective accomplishment and mental clarity. It was if I was walking on air, and I couldn’t help but get that shit-eating grin on my face as I walked into the gym.

I am not naïve, and I know that these feelings are fleeting. Sooner than later, I’ll be confronted by something or someone who will bring me back to earth. But don’t look a gift horse in the mouth; these feelings were real and with them there is an invaluable lesson to learn. My period of existential joy was not the result of finding my true purpose or meaning in life. This feeling was a result of a prolonged period of brutal honesty with myself, deep thinking, and hard work. It appears that flow is not a psychological and physical state to be discovered but rather a feeling to be achieved by focused discipline and sweat. The moral of the story is we can all achieve flow if we stop wishing for it and just get to work at whatever it is we are doing. Be patient and disciplined. Flow is in your future.