Are you ever so immersed in what you’re doing that you lose track of time? no longer notice where you are? and may be so un-self conscious that you even lose track of being hungry or thirsty? These are times of Flow. These times contribute to your overall well being.
In your work life as a chiropractor or nurse, and in your home life, how often do you get to experience flow? Using your personal strengths daily contributes to your experiencing flow. If you’re feeling so burnt out that you’re no longer sure of your strengths, take the VIA character strengths survey to reconnect to core aspects of yourself. Then, contact me to discuss how you can use your strengths at work, at home and in your community. You’ll move toward well being and revitalize your life.
Frequently, we think of flow experiences as being related to the activity itself, however, that’s not necessary. You can have a flow experience even doing mundane tasks. Flow requires that you are focused on the aspects of an activity that are challenging enough so that you are not bored and not so difficult that you become anxious. Like experiences for Goldilocks, the activity challenge needs to be just right. Here are some things you can do:
- Watch and decide what to pay attention to
- Notice when you think to yourself, “wow, that went quickly.” What’s the “that”? And what made it go so fast?
- Transform routine tasks by making aspects into games – for example challenge yourself to use one of your strengths as many times as you can throughout your day; do something mundane with your other hand, like putting away the flatware.
To experience more flow and more well-being in your life, contact me.
Dina 203.744.YOU3 (9683)
[…] The second part of this nurse’s ‘coping’ strategies had a lot to do with finding the right hobby. The life you have beyond work plays a major role in how you feel when you get to, are at and go home from work. The thought of a hobby may trigger thoughts like “what now, another thing I should be doing… I’m not busy and pressured enough.” You may not have time for a hobby right now, and it is important for you to set aside some time to do activities which get you into flow. Activities when you are so engaged that you lose track of time, you’re a bit challenged and the accomplishment at the end of the time is meaningful. I’ve read that you can get into “flow” even doing the dishes; somehow that doesn’t do it for me. When you can make even a mundane task into a challenge or a game, or reframe it to see to how it fits into a bigger purpose, the task does get elevated. There is a possibility of getting into flow and experiencing the rhythm and being present with the task at hand. For more on flow check out this article. […]