Why Use It
“Flow” is being in a state of awareness
where everything you do comes naturally and with the highest level of
perfection. This state is most easily recognized in athletes who are in a
“groove” or “zone.” It’s where a
baseball player is on a torrid hitting streak or a pitcher who throws a perfect
game or a baseball player makes all their shots. If you are a musician and
suddenly find yourself playing the most beautiful music of your life … you are
in a state of flow.
This state of flow happens when a person
becomes perfectly “in-the-present-moment.” It is where you are totally focused
on what you are doing without being distracted about thinking about the past or
future. For example, a baseball batter who is at the plate but lets a thought of
what he did his last at bat or thinks that getting a hit now to win-the-game …
is not in flow. The distraction of thinking about future rewards or rehashing
factors from the past significantly diminishes in-the-moment performance. As
Ram Dass said:
“Don’t think about the future. Just be
here now. Don’t think about the past. Just be here now.”
How to Do It
What if you
could tap into that flow? You can … by cultivating better present moment
awareness. Use the following Mindfulness Questioning Journal to get you going.
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Flow Awareness
Journal |
1. Briefly describe something that took place in your life today.
Describe anything that comes to mind: events, people, images, relationship,
etc.
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2. Write down how you felt
about it and what opinions, decisions and actions you took? |
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3.
Reflect on this event and write down” If I had been paying better attention
in that present moment I would have observed the following. |
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4.
Lastly, write down what questions you might you have asked or actions taken
that would have lead to a better outcome. |
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