For a time, I could not place a specific name for the mood that if and when it takes over, I do what I do best like a possessed man, be it writing or engaging in problem solving during my day job. A few years ago, I struggled to put pen to paper on a fictitious short story that kept tugging at me all the time, all day until one crazy night, when I sat on a computer early evening and found myself writing until 4a.m in the morning.
For a time, I could not place a specific name for the mood that if and when it takes over, I do what I do best like a possessed man, be it writing or engaging in problem solving during my day job.
A few years ago, I struggled to put pen to paper on a fictitious short story that kept tugging at me all the time, all day until one crazy night, when I sat on a computer early evening and found myself writing until 4a.m in the morning.
The Simple Dollar, an online personal finance website recently defined it as being "in the zone” meaning that you’re so absorbed by the task at hand that you lose track of time and place.
It goes on that when you get into that state, not only are you as productive as you can possibly be, you’re also much more open to "creative bursts” – ideas that float in from somewhere in your subconscious that add even more to your productivity.
Online encyclopedia, Wikipedia instead calls it ‘Flow’ - or completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning.
In flow the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand.
It goes on that the hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task. Practicing artists often credit these spontaneous bursts of creative energy for the best of their work.
For example, one colleague once wondered why the Late Lucky Dube, would be soft spoken and very timid when conducting a television interview just before a show, but during the show, a wild, almost crazy reggae singer would emerge to take the place of the timid man.
Flow is not just limited to the creative arts. It works in every profession, career and likewise. And as much as it is spontaneous, one can find ways of manufacturing their own Flow moments.
By switching off the many things which we depend on to supposedly exist in the world – like the blackberry, the computer, the car phone and to focus entirely on the task at hand. No wonder when a huge problem is at hand, many an inspirational leader turn to total isolation where total silence gives one the serenity to think straight. Such traditional practices such as Yoga draw from the Flow experience to rest mind, body and soul.
So when you are at that work crisis, when things are coming at you thick and fast and you basically cannot cope with the many decisions or solutions that you must offer almost simultaneously, it is important to seek some sanity by finding your own Flow and invoke its benefits.
This Sunday, I wish you a relaxed mind.