Hello again! Yesterday, I wrote about the mental health benefits of finding flow in your life, and explained the scientific concept for those who are unfamiliar. I would argue that many people are familiar with the flow concept, but may not have given it a name of any kind. Reading about it hopefully brought clarity for many of you on an experience you have had and either didn't consciously think about it, or didn't know what to think about it at all! :)
If you missed yesterday's blog post explaining the concept of flow, I encourage you to go back and read it so you have a greater understanding of the concept and the benefits it provides.
Today, I want to talk about it in more detail, and also give you some ideas of ways to experience it, to set the stage for it, and some pitfalls.
Yesterday I described the process of getting into a flow state, and I briefly mentioned that you want to allow at least 20 minutes to get there. To clarify, it typically takes about 20 minutes to get into the state, so you want to plan to participate in your flow activity for longer than 20 minutes, so you have TIME in the flow zone.
Incidentally, the most common activities connected to flow tend to have movement as part of their common theme - running, rock climbing, swimming, hiking, cycling, team sports, playing a musical instrument to name a few. According to one theory of brain activity during flow (transient hypofrontality theory), the reason flow experiences include changes in the perception of time, loss of self-consciousness, and the action-awareness connection mentioned yesterday, is that the motor cortex, part of the brain implicated in organizing and managing bodily movements, demands much of the available cognitive energy, so the brain deactivates or down-grades the priorities of other brain areas, like those related to our awareness of time, decision making, etc. Those are housed in the prefrontal cortex.
The transient hypofrontality theory thus suggests that actions that require us to focus on a goal, monitor our progress toward the goal, and coordinate body movements are taxing our brain's resources, so other areas of the brain need to 'get benched' for a while. Those areas are quickly reactivated, according to this theory, once we complete the activity and slow down, returning to a normal state of awareness and judgement.
Because of this activation and deactivation, it is thought that creativity can be highly active during a flow experience. Creativity can mean different things to different people: musicians creatively produce new music, scientists creatively conceive of new theories or studies, writers creatively construct new prose, cooks creatively develop new dishes, parents creatively determine new parenting techniques or family activities, and the list goes on. Creativity seems to be high because of that deactivation in the prefrontal cortex, where judgement and logic and reasoning seem to be housed. So, if we don't quickly dismiss new ideas because our prefrontal cortex is actively determining them to be illogical, poorly reasoned, or just bad ideas, then we have a chance to brainstorm new ideas! What a great benefit of finding your flow activity (or activities)!
Don't you all agree that right now in our world, what we need is some creative thinking? Not only on a grand scale, to solve the many problems we are facing, but in our own nuclear existence, to solve our own problems, like surviving in a pandemic, staying sane or happy in a pandemic and civil unrest, and keeping our family and friends sustained and happy as well.
You have probably figured out that I am a big fan of flow. I love it! I love experiencing it, and I love sharing this knowledge with others, so that they may experience it, too. That is part of the reason I was so excited a couple of years ago to co-author the book 'Running Flow' (yes, that was an obvious pitch, find the book anywhere you buy books....). But running and other physical activities similar to it are not the only way you can experience flow. I have mentioned this but it is worth mentioning again. Because not everyone loves running or other athletic endeavors. I get that! Or maybe you used to be an athlete and injuries or age have gotten in the way of your desire to continue to participate in them, so you need a new flow venue.
So, what other activities can produce flow, potentially? Well, any activity that requires you to set a goal and work toward it.
Chess. I don't play chess, so maybe checkers!
Scrabble.
Writing. Reading.
Playing music, creating music.
Knitting (I can't do that one, either. A left-handed person trying to learn from right-handed people just did not work for me!).
Cooking. Baking.
Doing math problems or learning a new language.
Drawing, sketching, painting, sculpting.
Gardening.
Now, beware of this one pitfall: thinking that an activity that allows your mind to wander is a flow activity, or that mind wandering if flow. Flow might feel like mind wandering, but it is most definitely not. Going for a peaceful walk along the beach or practicing shin-rin yoku (forest bathing... another day...) are beautiful experiences that allow us to let our mind go where it may. That is a fabulous experience on its own (and a topic for another day's blog), but very different than flow. Flow requires active work toward a goal, which you are not doing when you go out for a stroll and let your go where ever it chooses.
Another pitfall, which I mentioned yesterday: Don't go out with the 'goal' of experiencing flow. Flow will come, theoretically, when those changes in your brain take place while you are working toward a goal, and focusing on your progress toward the goal. The goal that is somewhat challenging, but not too challenging. And not too easy. Those are important elements of the experience, and those are not possible if your mind is set on the conscious idea that you want to have flow. I know that might seem rather challenging, and it is! You want flow, you know how good flow can be, but if you think about it, you likely won't get it. So, like I suggested yesterday, find that activity that is LIKELY to be a flow activity for you, and then just set out to enjoy the activity itself. Set a goal, work toward the goal, persist for longer than 20 minutes, and then let things happen as they may! You may be surprised that 30, 45, 60 minutes have passed and then you will realize you just experienced flow!
Today's task for pandemic resilience is the same as yesterday's, because it is important. Think about the activities you can safely participate in right now that might bring you some flow. Set some time aside when you can, at least 20-30 minutes minimum, to set a goal and work toward it in that activity. Do this regularly, as much as you can. I realize our lives are chaotic right now, and you may be far too busy to do this. I hope you can. I hope you will.
Get some flow! It will help you maintain your pandemic resilience. It will help you avoid 'pandemic fatigue'. It will help you find a little bit of joy in a very chaotic time. It will help you think creatively and solve some problems, lift your mood, enhance your clarity of thought and memory. So, do it for yourself and for your loved ones. Get them to do it somehow, too.
Meanwhile, be well, stay safe, and take care.
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