- Image by SuLeS via Flickr
It’s not surprising that the post Trying Out Some New Moves stirred up a bit of stew. If we have to post three times a day, who can keep that going? It’s too much! I’d point out that the idea here was not to just crank out stuff three times a day for ever, but to learn the move, gain insight about what could be learned from practicing such output. Seeing if such a move is even possible. The goal was to gain insights into why such a move might be appropriate at a certain time.
But lets get to the deeper issue. If I’m riding a horse, I want to be in sync with the horse. If I’m working a sewing machine, I want the fabric to run without bunching. If I’m writing a blog, I want the content to flow forth authentically.
Flow is a term coined by Dr. Csíkszentmihályi which describes the experience sometimes called by athletes as “being in the zone.”
Csíkszentmihályi identifies the following as accompanying an experience of flow:
- Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one’s skill set and abilities).
- Concentrating and focusing, a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).
- A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.
- Distorted sense of time, one’s subjective experience of time is altered.
- Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).
- Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).
- A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.
- The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action.
- People become absorbed in their activity, and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging. (From Wikipedia on Flow)
That would be pretty cool as a blogging posture, no? I mean, let forth your authentic self with that sense of the unfolding. Isn’t it hard to find flow experiences if we remain rooted in a rhythm that doesn’t challenge our capabilities? Perhaps we need to engage at a reckless pace once in awhile, just to see what that experience teaches us. Sometimes kicking it up a notch just puts us to the level of performance that we were always meant to be operating at.
Have you ever had a flow experience blogging?
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