Flowstate. The zone. In the moment. They’re similar and all the same. Another word for it is presence, being present in what you’re doing. Like as in, no past, no future, only this present moment. It’s reactive and pure but somehow you’re making the right choices. You don’t need to calculate, feels like you’re not even really making decisions. It’s like you’re being led. Your actions, movements, whatever you’re doing is just flowing out of you, naturally. Your intuition, instinct, intellect and intelligence converging on a single point in time, engaging you in what you’re doing.
Signs that you’re in flowstate are…
- You lose track of time
- You don’t have to think about what to do, it’s all very instinctual
- You’re not actively self-judging what you’re doing, it’s neither good or bad
- The activity makes you feel recharged and energized, it’s like a re-energizing feedback loop
- You’re not thinking of the past or the future
- It’s distraction free, there is nothing else on your mind, in fact it’s almost like you’re not thinking of anything
- By the end of it, it almost feels like you weren’t the one doing it or you don’t even remember what you did.
- You don’t necessarily feel pride and accomplishment of what you did, but more a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment of being totally engaged in the moment.
I’m sure we’ve all heard of flowstate, we all know what it is. We mostly hear it in the context of athletics, performances or competitions. Maybe it seems out of context or less useful for office work, labor work, cleaning the house, daily chores, personal projects or maybe even spending time with family and friends. Is flowstate only reserved for the highest level of competition or just physical activities. But what if it wasn’t and what if “everyday” people could harness the power of flowstate that the top athletes, dancers, actors, musicians or even chefs, writers, composers, spend their whole lives trying to perfect. And would it be worth it to us, what would be the value?