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 floor of the operating room after a difficult operation.
I?
“While I was operating – he answered -, the roof collapsed, but you were so absent-minded that you didn’t find out.”
And does this 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 to us without any effort. But there is a problem.
what problem
It is a pivotal and infrequent 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 have to quiet the critical voice inside us and focus on what we do.
with joy
When we are in a mood that facilitates what we do, challenges do not scare us. According to studies, those in this state are more creative and able to find innovative solutions despite difficulties because they are committed to what they do and are positive.
The good disposition leads us to the optimal state.
It subjugates the signs of high performance, improves attention, intention and energy. As we become calm and 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 another, in which you are involved, you feel good, more creative and connect well with people.
How much does it depend on us?
Attention must be trained. If you can focus your attention on one thing without being distracted, you are engrossed in what you are doing, and this is an entry into the optimal state, something that is within our control.
And can we have optimal whole days?
Our internal state is up to us. I remember a bus driver in New York – a really stressful job, but he was a happy guy – he made people feel good, he had fans! People were waiting to catch their bus and not another.
What was different?
He welcomed everyone who got on, looked him in the eye, smiled, asked him how he was doing, connected with everyone, people felt better when they got off the bus.
A sustained optimum.
He didn’t consider himself just a bus driver, he felt he was helping people make their day better. He had been assigned a mission that went beyond his job and this put him in an optimal state.
The vast majority do not 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 heads changed often: there was only one with whom we did not get along.
This is tense.
But I didn’t want it to affect how I felt every day, so I spent more time meditating in the morning before going to work to be very calm, clear-headed and have a good day, despite that boss.
And did he succeed?
You don’t have to let external circumstances control your mood and your abilities, you have to take control. I don’t know if the bus driver liked driving, but that didn’t matter 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 for entering the optimal state through emotional self-awareness, that is, knowing what you feel and why, as this shapes your perception, the your thoughts and actions.
This is going for grade.
Whether it is easy 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.
The 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 bounce back. The more you train your attention, the more you learn to see bad mood as a distraction you can get rid of.
I like it, he made it small.
We are not as powerless as we think over our internal state. I think there is a certain passivity in the attitude of believing that whatever our external reality is, it will shape our internal reality. You don’t have to accept the mood you wake up with.
