Is being in a state of flow the best?
This case belongs to an investigation by the University of Chicago: “What happened?” the neurosurgeon asked the nurse when he saw debris on the operating room floor after a difficult operation.
AND?
“While you were operating,” he responded, “the ceiling collapsed, but you were so distracted that you didn’t notice.”
And does it happen a lot?
They collected thousands of testimonies. In the state of flow we are at maximum performance, at our absolute best, there is a balance between the challenge and our skills, time disappears and everything comes effortlessly. But there is a problem.
What a problem?
It is a peak and rare experience; It is much more realistic to pursue the optimal state, which allows us to relax and enjoy what we do without continuous judgments. We must silence the critical voice within us and focus on what we are doing.
Gladly.
When we are in a mood that makes what we do easier, challenges do not scare us. According to studies, those who are in this state are more creative and capable of finding innovative solutions despite difficulties because they are committed to what they do and appear positive.
Good mood takes us to the optimal state.
Underlies signs of high performance, improves attention, intention and energy. As we become calmer and more centered, our thinking becomes sharper and clearer, making it possible for us to use whatever talents we have.
Is it about having a good day?
One after the other, in which you are involved, you feel good, more creative and connect well with people.
To what extent does it depend on us?
You have to train your attention. If you can focus your attention on one thing without getting distracted, you are absorbed in what you do, and that is an entry into the optimal state, something that is within our control.
And can we have optimal whole days?
Our internal state depends on us. I remember a bus driver from New York – really stressful – but this was a happy guy who made people feel good, he had fans! People were waiting to catch their bus and no other.
What did it do differently?
He welcomed everyone who came up, looked them in the eyes, smiled, asked them how they were. She connected with the entire passenger, people felt better when they got off the bus.
An optimal sustain.
He didn’t consider himself just a bus driver, he felt like he helped people make their day better. He had assigned himself a mission that went beyond his work and that put him in an optimal state.
The vast majority don’t like their jobs.
I was a journalist like you for many years for The New York Times. I worked in the science section, where the bosses changed often: there was only one we didn’t like.
That tenses.
But I didn’t want that to affect how I felt every day, so I spent more time meditating in the morning before going to work so that I would be very calm, have a clear head and have a good day, despite that boss.
And did he achieve it?
You should not let external circumstances control your mood and abilities, you have to take control. I don’t know if the bus driver liked driving, but that wasn’t what mattered to him, his main job was to change the mood of his passengers. Perspective.
It requires a lot of emotional intelligence.
This is what science shows us: emotional intelligence is a strategy to enter the optimal state through emotional self-awareness, that is, knowing what you feel and why, how that shapes your perception, your thoughts and actions.
That’s going for note.
How easy it is depends on how accustomed we are to observing our own internal reality, and meditation and breathing exercises help to manage it better.
The mood is very changeable.
External reality may plunge you into a bad mood, but one of the indicators of emotional intelligence is not that you don’t feel bad, but how quickly you recover. The more you train your attention, the more you learn to see a bad mood as a distraction that you can get rid of.
I like it, he made it small.
We are not as powerless as we believe when it comes to our internal state. I think there is a certain passivity in the attitude of believing that whatever our external reality is will shape our internal reality.
