Tag Archives: Momentum

Finding the Flow

Find Your Flow and Follow

Life is full of little words like flow. It is something that when you have it, life goes along smoothly, and when you lack it, everything feels like a struggle. It is a factor that most people don’t spend time consciously thinking about. But shouldn’t we? It makes sense we should focus our attention on a force making our lives a better experience. Our energy is totally up to us.

The great thing is that whether we are in the flow is all a matter of choice in what we decide to focus our energy on. Getting into the flow is as simple as paying attention to the moment at hand and experiencing that part of life, singularly by itself—conscious awareness of what is happening for you today.

In the Flow

One of the greatest gifts of playing sports is that you can experience what flow feels like and what it’s like when you lose it. In each athletic Flowcontest I have ever played in or coached, there is a flow to it. Not every game is the same, and what worked yesterday and provided success may not work today and might lead to disaster. I remember being in the flow a few times; they were few and far between because I didn’t know what was happening. I remember knowing what to do before it happened, a calmness of movement, confidence of action, that led to a connection with my team, the opposing team, and the game itself. My focus was solely on what I had to do at that moment. Not on winning or losing, but on doing what I needed to do. It is referred to as momentum in a game, and it changes teams as the focus and confidence change sides.

Life is full of chances to do the same thing. Be in the moment and react to what you need to do right now. Please don’t spend time worrying about the result that will take care of itself. Focus on the tasks you are doing and how you can perform them. A joy rises from within when you operate from flow, which is unavailable without a conscious focus.

Getting into the Flow

I think that our conscious focus on life is the doorway to getting into the energy flow. The first thing you need to do is thoroughly learn to be in the moment. You have to make decisions in each moment, which move naturally into the next. There is nothing terrible about the flow, and it feels good and allows you to be the best version of yourself, even if only for a moment. Once you change your focus and start worrying about the score, it will leave you.

The score in life is when you entertain thoughts about what others think about doing. Other people’s Thoughts are irrelevant to flow and don’t matter anyway. What you think about what you are doing is what counts. Another flow killer is to compare what you are doing to the performance. Your game is your game. Their game is their game. Focus on your tasks and movements that you can control, let the criticisms of others and their accomplishments stay in their game. Life is going to ebb and flow. It would help if you were willing to move with that same energy.

Accept and Embrace The flow.

Finally, to remain in the flow as long as possible, it is vital to understand the constant and inevitable influence change will have on you. Everything will change eventually. It may be small and almost invisible, or it may be significant and unmistakable. But it will change. Know that like a river, the flow of life will change course, but you can follow it with attention.

Some stretches of the river will be delightful, you move at your leisure, and everything passes quickly. Then there will be rapids, full of potential for growth and excitement. Looking back at the comfortable stretch will not allow you to master the rapids any better. Focus on the task at hand. That is where your life is. It is the choice of every person to fight against the current and try to return to calmer times. Or to go with the flow and ride it out, learning what you can about river navigation and preparing you for what is around the next bend in the river.

Today in all that you do, be conscious of and look for the flow that exists in life right now. Where is the river taking you? Focus on your thoughts, words, and actions to determine if they are going with the flow of your life or against it. Getting into the flow will allow you to be the best version of yourself that you can be today. What more could you want?

Life will move with the ease your focus dictates.

“Let reality be a reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. ” ~ Lao Tzu

 

Grateful

What are you most grateful for?

gratitude 111It is a difficult task indeed to start to think about what you are most grateful for. Many people will say money. Some will say, love. Some will say, family. Some will say something else entirely.

I am thankful for all these things, but to me, there is no doubt that showing your gratitude is the most important thing to do. The feeling of gratitude is important.  So for me, I guess the act of feeling grateful is the thing I am most grateful for today.  Here is why.

Taking things for Granted

gratitude-quotes-16I was the type of person who took many great things in my life for granted. Not appreciating the things that people did for me out of the goodness of their hearts. Yet, I was not grateful. In fact, I think I felt entitled to all the things I had in my life.

 The problem with that is that you are never pleased with what you have but are always angry or worried about what you don’t have. This is the problem with a lack of gratitude. No matter how much you get, you are never pleased.

When You Lose Everything, You are Grateful for Anything

GratefulIn my life, I had the good fortune to lose everything. In that time of turmoil, many feelings of self-pity and anger eventually will consume you or push you to make changes.  I decided to change.

 It started with a change in attitude. The sun didn’t rise and set because I existed, and I could make a decision every day to decide how that day to be happy.  Happiness started with a realization of how lucky I was to have anything at all.

That realization expressed provides the feeling of gratitude. When it comes to events that are difficult to deal with, your designation of either good or bad is your perception of the experience.  The experience is still the same. You might as well be grateful for it.

Gratitude leads to more Gratitude.

Once you take a moment to express your gratitude each day, it has been my experience that deepakthe momentum will build, and you will find more in your life to be grateful for.  I have read that the act of being grateful is one of the most important emotions that you can experience because it opens the door for more things to enter your life that will deserve gratitude.

So I am most grateful for the time I take each day to appreciate fully what I experience in my life every day.  Away from labels of good or bad, they are experiences that provide all of the situations that combine to teach me the things I need to know to follow my purpose.  It is the moments of thankfulness that we find what is great in ourselves.

What are you most grateful for?