Have you ever been “in the zone?”
For just a moment, you drop into that space…
Where everything aligns…
Everything just makes sense…
You’re probably facing a challenge…
But you’re ready for it…
Ready to take it on…
Ready to do anything…
And when you’re in that space, that spot…
Your performance skyrockets.
Hard work becomes easier.
Results you otherwise might fight for just happen.
And you’re on top of the world.
This is the state called flow, and you can get into it more often…
I remember this is part of what I loved about playing hockey growing up.
I played defense.
And I LOVED that moment where someone was coming at me, one-on-one.
I’d flip around to skate backwards…
Face-to-face with the opponent coming at me…
Just watching, with completely open awareness…
The whole world would drop away…
And I’d wait for that moment of knowing, then…
BAM!
I’d swing my stick and smack the puck out of their control.
Later, playing adult hockey for a bit in Oregon and having my stats tracked, I stumbled on a stat the year my team won the city championship.
Our goalie had like 20% less shots on goal against him than any other goalie in the league.
It was justification of something I knew in my gut for years.
When I go into that space, I don’t let the other team get a shot on goal.
Turns out that wins championships, too.
It’s been a bit since I’ve played any significant hockey, but I still find flow…
It just happens at work — where it’s far more profitable.
Now, I aim to get into flow with my writing.
Sitting down, even writing this.
Finding the zone.
That feeling.
That special space where the words just come out, onto the page.
And it turns out flow at work — at least among high performers — is at least as common as flow in sports.
And if you can CREATE those moments of flow, you can achieve more.
I’m listening to the Nightingale-Conant program from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (you can get it through Amazon/Audible — you can even get it free with an Audible free trial), considered the world’s top expert on flow experiences.
And he shares the 8 common characteristics of flow experiences.
Knowing these, you can actually set up your work and life to find flow more.
And increase your performance.
Today’s video shares my experience with flow — plus all 8 elements of flow.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
