FLOW - what is it and how can we find it?

The last four months have been busy! Each weekend has been spent trying to cram as much as possible in, while still trying to remain calm, collected and reaching for new goals with training, course participation, study and completing practical hours required to complete my qualifications.
Don't get me wrong - I WANT to be doing these things, and I know that they are just one of the 'cons' of moving into a new career path - but it hasn't been all smooth sailing and easy, with a few compromises and sacrifices made along the way.

I have found myself with a wandering mind...

It's funny how when you stop doing the things that subconsciously give you confidence, your mind starts to feel as if it is unable to complete the things that should come easy to you.

I haven't been able to run as much as I would have liked to (well - waking up at 4am on weekends didn't seem like a sustainable option on top of the usual 5am weekday training before work during the week - fair call hey!). 

I'd gone from creeping up my mileage and feeling strong at 25km plus, to accepting that life is only allowing me to fit in 10-12km at the most - obviously making running my usual half marathons and hopeful marathon this year a stretch!

Although I was and am busy, in my mind, I felt a form of 'defeat', and felt as if something was missing. 

This lead me to feel a sense of dissatisfaction, reduced motivation and in a sense a lack  of confidence. This stems off into feeling as if I am unable to do everyday tasks, achieve what I want to be achieving in my career, unable to complete the half marathon or full (yeah - scary!) goal I set for myself (which - up until a couple of weeks ago, felt somewhat attainable!), unsure about the direction I am heading in life....confidence plays a very big role in our ability to take on larger tasks.

So how do we get this confidence running through our veins you ask?

During a hard run session, it is as if my body has to demonstrate to my mind that it is suitable and up to any upcoming challenges. 
And when my body does what I want it to - I feel as if I am ready to take on a new challenge again! It's as if our mind has to interview our body, and occasionally, the other way around, to ensure that it is capable of being 'at one' with the other. 
Being able to connect the two - mind and body, makes you a far stronger person, and give you the confidence to challenge yourself in tasks all throughout your day to day lives.

Being able to feel a sense of 'flow', where our body (or skill level - such a running, or completing a task at work) is matched with the level of challenge, makes us forget all of the little 'troubles' in our lives. For a period of time, we feel clear headed, confident and with a sense of growth and satisfaction. This 'flow' is what people, particularly high achievers become addicted to, and understandably!!

To help strengthen your mind and grow in confidence, ideally, you should be doing something that gets you into your 'FLOW ZONE' at least once a week, if not more. The feeling is almost meditative - refreshing, rejuvenating and leaving you with a feeling of butterflies and a GIANT smile on your face.

Each person is going to have something totally different to the next which gets them feeling flow, and as if nothing else exists. For some, it might be singing, others it might be writing, for many it could be something more physical.

I know that one of mine is running. I've been on long runs through tracks among the trees, where I've completely zoned out so much that I can't even remember running through certain parts of the track! At first i wasn't sure if I had blacked out or was starting to come down with a bit of a bug - but after looking into it -  the flow was raging for me at that moment. It was incredible and I cam back from the run in a completely different mindset to that when I left home.

So how can we keep this so-called 'flow', allowing us to feel awesome and accomplished more often?

1) Set yourself a goal or a task (Remember, we have to make something challenging for our 'skills'; not too difficult to cause anxiety, and not too easy to cause boredom). For most of us, this will be something we need to think back on a time or moment in our lives when we felt 'just right'. What were you doing? Where were you?

2) Focus on the moment. Take the time to look around you, feel what your body/mind is doing rather than the extra large 'to do list' sitting on your fridge at home. Think about your breathing, look around you, listen to the sounds.

3) Focus on something that you can control. For example, as much as you like - you can't control everything.  So, the reaction of others, relationships or employment may be a little unreasonable to focus on all the time - think about your response, your actions, your own goals.

4) The more effort you put into your goal - generally the better result, and the resulting more regular 'flow' will occur. So 'go and get them girl!'.

Giving yourself challenging, but attainable goals is a brilliant and proven way to improve your confidence. Be it a physical, mental, family, workplace, academic or travel goal - the feeling of 'flow' you get from reaching it, or even knowing that you're getting closer to your goal will improve your confidence. It amazingly has a ripple effect on your outlook on life and gives you the confidence to try new challenges, or push yourself out of your comfort zone.