On one of my trips this year I walked by the hydrant shown below. As a former firefighter, I was shocked and amused. This fire hydrant is in a busy neighborhood, it is great they had fire hydrants. What is not so great is that the pavement around the hydrant is built up so high that it is not possible to connect hoses to the hydrant to establish a water supply. The flow from the hydrant is effectively blocked by the pavement that is built up around the hydrant.
What a beautiful metaphor this is for ways in which we sometimes block the flow! When in the flow experience, we are completely absorbed by what we are doing. We forget about time, we forget to eat, and we are oblivious to distractions. Different people are drawn into the flow experience in different ways. For some of us, sports triggers the flow experience, while others get into the flow state by listening to music or making music or other creative expressions. The flow state can be experienced in a wide range of activities that include reading, writing software, car repair, meditation, problem solving, being in nature, or spending time with others. Which activity gets us into the flow state is personal, but as shown by the psychologist Csíkszentmihályi it is important for our wellbeing to spend significant time in the flow state.
But just as the hydrant in the photo is blocked by the pavement that is built up around it, our flow experience can be blocked by the clutter of everyday life. Perhaps we are very busy, and our attention is so fragmented that we don’t enter the flow state. We may spend so much of our mental energy on worry or rumination that we block the flow. Stress is detrimental for the flow state because when we are stressed our mind is racing, and we can’t muster the attention to being in the flow. Some of us may even feel guilty to spend time being in the flow state, because it requires us to focus us on activities that seem to be frivolous or that don’t seem to fit into the production-paradigm of modern life. But when our flow is blocked it is not only our wellbeing that suffers, our creativity and ability to navigate life if blocked as well.
How are you doing with flow? Are you in the flow regularly, or is the flow blocked? If so, what prevents you from spending more time in the flow state? You may block the flow yourself, if that is the case what causes you to block the flow? And how could you create more opportunities to be in the flow state? Are there external circumstances that prevent you from being in the flow? Can you change these circumstances? Or if you cannot change the circumstances, can you develop habits to still spend time in the flow? If getting into the flow state is a challenge, you may or may not know the answer to these questions. As a coach, I may be able to help you create habits that allow you to spend time in the flow state. That may not only improve your wellbeing, but it could also increase your productivity, creativity, and ability to solve problems. Life needs to flow to be fully expressed.