How to Experience Everyday Flow
One of the things I love about facilitating my free 28-Day Flow Challenges is witnessing the unique and creative activities that participants choose. The only rule is that our activities bring us JOY, and that have a high chance of helping us to get into a flow state–that zone where we are so engaged in what we are doing that we often lose track of time, and the rest of the world seems to fall away.
Delight is a great clue when it comes to choosing an activity that has a high chance of helping us to access a flow state, and that can help our overall lives to flow too.
The more everyday moments we have of joy and flow, the more we train our brains to experience flow more often. When we have everyday flow experiences often, life just gets better. Our happiness increases and everyday flows!
In a recent 28-Day Flow Challenge, Kimberly chose to mindfully create beautiful fruit bowls for herself each morning. This activity checked lots of boxes. First of all, it was easy to create as a habit because every single morning, she walked into the kitchen to make herself breakfast. In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear reminds us that we are much more apt to establish a new habit when a cue that already happens (like walking into the kitchen) reminds us to do it.
Making a colorful fruit bowl each morning also checked off another personal goal for Kimberly–eating healthily. It always helps when one activity can help us reach several personal goals. (For me personally, going on nature walks with friends does this, something I call task stacking–I get to check off exercising, being in nature, and catching up with friends at one time.) When activities help us reach several goals at once, we have a higher chance of following through because the benefits are greater.
Finally, Kimberly found that by mindfully focusing on her process of cutting fruit each morning and making a fruit bowl that was aesthetically pleasing increased the chances for her personally of starting her day with a mini experience of flow. (I can only imagine that it also started her day with a does of delight–just looking at her photos definitely delights me!)
Many people who participate in my free 28-Day Flow Challenges choose activities that often start like mindfulness. The truth is, the two are close cousins. The first step in any flow experience and in mindfulness is FOCUSING and increasing our awareness–both of ourselves and what’s happening around us. The more we focus, the more we are able to block out distractions and anything keeping us from our goal, whether that’s being present, learning, creating something new, or all of the above!
The best part of flow, in my opinion, is that while we are in flow, we are connected with our egoless selves, the part of us that is uninhibited, intuitive, and couldn’t care less what other people think. Instead, we are doing what we do because it feels right.
In flow, we are connected with that True Self that knows how important our well-being really is, and is clear about what it will take for us to experience true contentment and wellness in each moment. The more everyday activities we can do in flow, the more easily and effortlessly life takes us to where we most want to be.
Thanks so much for sharing, Kimberly!
Photo printed with permission. Copyright 2022.
If you have an insight, feedback, or a story from participating in one of my free 28-Day Flow Challenges, email me at [email protected]. I value your privacy and will only share your story in my emails, website, books, courses, or with others in our community with your written permission.
