We’ve all heard the saying, “Just go with the flow” which can seem like a throwaway line when someone wants you to chill the heck out. It can even feel like an insult when we are in the height of a magnificent stress meltdown, and our buddy utters that phrase.

Flow, however isn’t just some hippy catch-phrase, it’s actually a concept developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (saying his name will get you OUT of flow) to describe those moments when we are completely absorbed in a challenging, yet doable task. Think of when you see children totally INTO something. They don’t notice the passing of time, nor do they pay attention to anything not related to the activity. So flow can be annoying to those around us, but fabulous when we are in it.

Mr.C reckons that some of the best moments in life happen when we are stretched to accomplish something that is both difficult and worthwhile (Yep, that purpose thing again). We are inclined to agree with him.

It seems that to really suck the marrow out of life, and to feel like our life is delicious and juicy, we want the challenge (Who else has challenge in their top five values? -Al).

We want to be able to achieve that goal in the end. Which is why we have to upskill, or increase our competence in order to get into flow. The thing we are shooting for can’t be too far out of our reach or we won’t be able to get into flow.

We will get into this in the podcast this week, but for now we would like you to reflect on a time when you’ve been in flow (remember, it feels timeless and everything just comes together- it can be at work or at play- often we hear of people being in flow when they are sportsing). Once you can recall a time of flow, we’d love you to consider where you would like to master getting into flow in the future… and we will show you the steps in the podcast. It’s easier than you think.

So come on, go with the flow, baby! It’ll make you smile.