I’m on the home stretch of the Mindset Workshops I’ve been running for my colleagues in the office.

7 weeks down, 3 weeks to go.

In last week’s workshops we explored the concept of flow.

Flow is sometimes described as “being in zone” or “being in the groove”. 

It’s a state I can find myself in when I’m playing blitz chess.  I'll be so immersed in the position on the board that I forget about where I am and what else is going on in my life.  Time starts to stand still and the moves I make come naturally & automatically, no calculation required.

That’s how flow feels to me.  But I was curious how it felt to others.

And during the workshops last week I asked the question:

How would you know if you were in flow?  What would you be feeling?  What would you be experiencing?

After some time to ponder, I invited the attendees to share what had come up. 

As they did, I jotted down their answers.

Here they are:

Relaxed

Present 

Things are happening for me  

Effortless

Instinctive 

Clear

Not taking things personally 

Intuition 

Being unaffected by others

Quiet

Vibrant

Tuning out from everything else 

In the moment

A sense of achievement 

Clarity of thought

Creative

Stillness 

Aliveness 

Peace

I enjoyed hearing these answers.

But we weren’t done there.

In one of the workshops, after everyone had shared, an attendee piped up and said:

Flow feels like a natural position

Bingo!

This is how it looks to me too.

There’s an idea out there that flow occurs when we operate at the edge of our comfort zone or when we’re engaged in certain tasks.

Like, for instance, firing up a game of blitz chess.

But I think this is a red herring.

More and more I see that flow – and the aliveness, clarity, instinct and peace which comes with flow – is built into us.

It’s our natural state. 

So it’s not a place for us to find or a destination to get to. It’s not something we "switch on" by engaging in certain tasks.

Instead, it’s already switched on.  And it’s always available to us.

So if you want to find more flow, the question isn’t “where do I go?” or “what do I do?”.

The question becomes “what’s blocking my flow?”.

It’s a different way of thinking about things.  But, in my experience, it’s the best direction to look.

If you’re scratching your head thinking “I don’t know what’s blocking my flow”, then I’m happy to share with you what I’ve seen about this “blockage” for myself. 

In return, I’m asking for a little something. 

I have a question for you:

What word or phrase best describes flow for you?  You can pick a word or phrase from the list above. Or, if you like, you can come up with your own.

Once you’ve decided, hit reply.  In your reply, let me know one word or phrase which characterises this flow state for you.  And I’ll reply back with what I’ve seen about this blockage, what I think it is, and a path to unblock it, if that’s something you want to do.

That’s all for today.

 - Tom