F is for Flow!

Today's post is all about flow activities. But what do we mean by the term 'Flow'?

'Flow' happens when we are so absorbed in an activity that we lose ourselves and our sense of time. You are 'in the zone'; fully immersed in a feeling of focus, energy, enjoyment and involvement in the activity at hand.

Flow links closely to Intrinsic Motivation, which we talked about here. They are linked because without intrinsic motivation, it becomes almost impossible to achieve flow. They are both specific to you as an individual, so knowing your interests is a great help when looking for activities to help you find flow and intrinsic motivation.

I personally find writing, gaming and cycling to be great flow activities because they are engaging to me, but that doesn't mean that everyone will find those activities engaging or enjoyable. Knowing what you enjoy and what brings you satisfaction will help you find your flow.

Flow activities are perfect for when we feel negatively about things, if we are having a bad day or something bad has happened, because it gives us a sense of escape from those negative emotions. 

This is because you are fully focused on the task at hand, which helps to slow the tide of negative emotions in our mind. You might not necessarily experience positive emotions either while engaged in a flow activity, because you are focusing on the practical aspects of the task at hand, for example if you are climbing a mountain, you aren't thinking about how you feel, you are just focused on taking each step and reaching the top.

When we complete flow activities, we usually feel a surge of positive emotions. We feel a sense of achievement for completing our activity, we feel happy because we enjoyed that activity, and we feel motivated to increase our abilities. We are encouraged to stick with difficult tasks and see them through to the end. This increase in positive emotions can help to balance out any negative ones that we have.

Exercises and activities to try:

Hide and seek! -  Kid's games are the greatest example of flow activities; you are focused on the game and your goal is clear - to win! Grab a few friends or siblings and have a big game of hide and seek in your house, your garden, or in the park.  It may feel silly at the start, but it is so much fun, and helps demonstrate how it feels to be engaged in a flow activity, because you are focused on finding your friends and winning the game, not on your thoughts and feelings! Alternatively, if you feel like too much of an adult for hide and seek, have a Nerf gun war instead! 

Challenge yourself! - One of the key things to achieving flow is having realistic goals for the activity. Things like playing football, mountain climbing and video games have clear goals, but others, like drawing, running or reading do not. If your chosen flow activity lacks goals, then have a go at assigning yourself some challenges! This gives you something to focus on and helps you find your Flow!

Do you enjoy painting? Challenge yourself to paint something new once a week. Maybe you enjoy swimming, so you could set yourself a goal lap time. The key is to set realistic goals that challenge you, but that are ultimately achievable. If goals are too easy, you become bored, and if they are too hard, you become anxious, so keep this in mind when setting your goals. If you find your goals to be too easy or difficult at first, don't give up, just adjust them until they are right for you!