All righty! Let’s set some emotional targets, shall we?
As we dig in on this segment, I’d like you to remember this phrase (post it up in your workspace, should you need the reminder): Flow follows focus. Ooh, that’s good!
Today’s work: Identify your top three most recent activities that have put you into a state of flow — consistently — for extended periods of time. This can be a show you did, an audition for which you prepped, a screenplay you wrote, whatever!
Next, list off the adjectives that were generated most consistently while you were in the states of flow that allowed you to do such exciting work. After that, identify what percentage of your average day is spent with those adjectives, those feelings, those vibes coming into your life consistently.
Once you’ve set your emotional target, commit to ways to bring more of this feeling into your daily life so that you can more easily drop into states of flow that allow for maximum creative output.
So, can washing/detailing/waxing my motorcycle put me in a state of flow? Because I spent a solid 3-4 hours (with a few breaks in there) working on that yesterday, and it felt AMAZING. The only time I became aware of time was when my tutoring company called me to offer me a new student. I had followed my impulse to wash my motorcycle yesterday (my poor baby needed it, I hadn’t washed it since before I moved down here!), which turned into a much more intensive care routine as I picked up the supplies I needed and actually started working on it. I had originally scheduled 1.5 hours of flow for writing or sewing, and 1.5 hours of flow time for agent targeting, but ended up doing this the entire time instead.
If I wasn’t in a state of flow, then I definitely felt like I was doing some sort of self care by taking care of my bike.
But I am excited to start journalling this and see what adjectives arise!
YES! I believe the “rule” is anything other than television-watching can put us in a state of flow as it kicks off the active recovery part of the cycle from something else we were doing. LOVE that you were able to get there and enjoy it!! 🙂 Isn’t this great?!?
Aha! This is brilliant. The adjectives that have come up are: relaxation, ease, presence, ready, instinctual
I would say I’m in this territory about 60% of the time.
My emotional target is RELAXATION and I know now that if I focus on this slipping in to flow will be so much easier!
OMG! I love this so much! Here’s to more relaxation and I don’t mean sitting around doing nothing- just being more chilled in my approach to life, relaxed with my kids and my boyfriend and my friends. More relaxed in my approach to this film I’m in.
Relaxed breathing, relaxed recovery time, relaxed dealings with people who trigger my un- relaxedness.
Oh- I feel so relaxed just writing all of this! I don’t need to fight to prove myself, I am enough. It all ties in together.
X
BEAUTIFUL! And I love your emotional target! I may try to lean into something similar over here! <3
“It all ties in together.”
It. Indeed. Does.
Just done some journaling in which I wrote out my day focusing on relaxation. Wow!
How do I behave if I’m the best in the world at what I do? From a place of deep relaxation.
It all can be so simple if we allow it to be.
Isn’t that absolutely beautiful? 🙂 Well done, gorgeous!
I wondered if this would produce similar results to Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map, but I found that wasn’t the case. My three flow state emotions are fresh (or maybe refreshed), focus (or maybe attention, as in I am focused and single-asking and also there is focus and attention, maybe even accountability, being given to me), and adrenaline (which could be produced by the stakes of the event, the caliber of the company I’m in, or a deadline).
I’m not familiar with The Desire Map (although I know Danielle of course). Care to share more? If it relates with this, of course.
It absolutely relates to this and much else that you teach as well. It’s also one of the most life-changing concepts I’ve been introduced to over the last 30 years, including Morning Pages and Getting Things Done. The very basic principle is that everything we want to have, do, and be is because it makes us feel a certain way. If we identify what the most important of those feelings are (our Core Desired Feelings, or CDFs), we can 1) find ways to feel those now, 2) find ways to bring our CDFs to taking action toward our goals or working or managing our lives, and 3) use our CDFs as planning tools at least as much, if not more than, our goals (this one is hard for me).
There’s a beautiful book on Amazon that is well worth reading. It recommends prioritizing to 3-5 CDFs, but 7 is my magic number, so my 7 CDFs are (currently) Fierce, Golden, Luminous, Masculine, Crystal, Eros, and Hygge.
I’ve read all of Danielle’s books, and this is by far the most profound and relevant for me.
Wow. I cannot wait for us to talk more about flow at the Escape this weekend. So many dusty old doors in my head are opening up saying ‘Look at the treasures I have for you!’
My adjectives are connective, channeled, and free. FREE. Is that an emotion? I’m making it one. Oh. My. God.
I re-started this, since the last round I stopped at this page. And it still takes a very big breath to get over this.
40%, that’s it. Often even less. I’m really trying to be gentle with myself here, because I need it.
The three emotional states that came up were focus (meaning my attention was supremely focused on the thing I was doing, whether playing the piano, writing, creating an outline for my next project, etc.), presence or present (meaning feeling fully present in what I was doing — no distractions or anything else trying to grab my attention or if something was there, in the background, I didn’t even notice it), and I guess the best word to describe it is excited. Not in a wowie, zowie kind of way, but in a deep way — kind of “I’m totally fulfilled with what I’m doing here and I don’t need anything else in my life” kind of excitement. Which is very interesting because I never used to feel that way with my music — there was never any “flow” there — only fear and nerves, and, of course, a HUGE inner critic. But for the last few years I’ve silenced that critic (for the most part — it’s taken a LOT of work, mind you) and now when I perform I note that I go into a state of flow — a bit of struggle as I anticipate it (ugh, am I really doing this again?), releasing that as the time arrives, sitting down to play and going into the flow state and just playing with ease and focus — my main goal being to produce beautiful music that will touch people emotionally and then I’m done and I need to relax and let it all go. So yeah, I guess I’ve come a long way with that. Interesting.