You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘Being in the flow’ before and you’ve probably experienced it. In this post, I share what it is, how to get and stay ‘in the flow’ and I welcome you to share your tips in the comments section.
So, what does being ‘in the flow’ mean?
The best way to describe it is if you picture yourself swimming against the tide for 5 minutes, your arms are getting tired, being in the flow is the feeling you get, the moment you let go. In letting go, you begin to go ‘with the flow,’ you know that you’re in the flow when you lose a sense of time, feel inspired, excited, Joyful and passionate, most of us have experienced before.
The opposite is swimming against the tide, which often feels frustrating, brings anxiety, feelings of resistance, from that space, we rarely produce our best work – this is why it’s important to find ways to get into the flow and spend as much time there.
Location & Flow
Sometimes external factors can affect our flow, for example, if you work from home and the environment is noisy, you may be distracted by family members as well as ‘household chores’ that you feel you should be doing, your environment may not be ‘In flow’ for you, and you’d improve your workflow by finding a workspace.
Traveling with the flow
Your location can have a massive impact on the amount of flow you experience, for example, if you have an app that you’d love to develop, as much as there are opportunities everywhere sometimes ‘going to the mountain’ can put you in flow, if you’re in tech Silicon Valley, is still known as a great place for app developers.
In 2000 Neo-soul duo Floetry moved to Philadelphia as they struggled to get recognition by the UK music scene, once they moved their career took off, and one of their songs which were rejected by UK Music publishers was picked up by Michael Jackson! Getting in flow sometimes means packing your suitcase and moving!
Working against the tide
When working against the flow, you can get tasks done, but they’ll be so much harder for you to do that for someone whose life’s purpose is to do those things for example, you may light up when you’re in the kitchen and enjoy learning and blending ingredients together, when you cook you’re in flow – yet someone else who doesn’t enjoy cooking, may find a recipe book but finds the whole process a struggle and feels negative emotions towards it – who’s food will come out the best?
Whether you’re a software developer, musician or chef, you have a choice of going with the flow or fighting against it, there’s no right or wrong way, but at some point you have to decide if you want to grow a business that’s aligned with you, this involves being aware of who you are, what your strengths are and what you want to experience.
How do you get into the flow?
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Prioritise your feelings
Do not take actions until you are in alignment on an emotional level. If you feel resistance then the actions you take will be 10x harder and may get you poor results.
If I’m exploring a new idea for myself or with a client and resistance comes up, I take the time to dig deeper to understand where that resistance is coming from, this way I can make sure energy is going in the right direction before making my next move. ,
Feeling the fear and doing it anyway doesn’t mean aggressively ‘going for it’, we’re not machines and from my experience, there are great lessons hidden in procrastination.
2. Get Clear on your Desires
Are you clear about what you desire for your business, for your life, for your clients? if you’re not clear on your desires, then it can feel like you’re swimming upstream and you’ll struggle to feel fulfilled.
This level of clarity can also help you understand if new opportunities is for you or not!
3. Be aware of what is fragmenting your energy
Do you want to be financially free but don’t like checking your bank balance?
Do you want to be fit and healthy but dislike knowing too much about where your foods coming from?
Do you want a thriving business but feel uncomfortable talking to new people?
These contradictory energies will take you out of flow, and ignoring them will not make them go away!
4. Stop & listen to your Intuition
Whether you call it your gut or your intuition, powering on to do things that your heart is telling you not to will not support you, your business or your goals in the long run.
Commitment means staying in alignment with ourselves and our communities, it doesn’t mean doing a task repeatedly.
it’s important to stay committed to your goals while having the confidence to move with the tides. Look at any of the brands you love and you’ll notice that over time they’ve needed to adapt, rebrand and make changes to stay relevant. Look at how iTunes evolved into a subscription base with apple music then introduced more movies after the rise of Netflix, a very different to how iTunes started, previously a Jukebox in our pocket.
5. Act Fast
When you receive inspiration, act fast e.g write it down at least! Then ride the wave to completion, acting fast just means taking one step!
6. Be present
Have you ever been on a date or meeting where the other person is constantly checking their phone?
No one can multitask, it’s a myth, you’re either thinking about ‘this’, or ‘that’ and every time you move focus from ‘this’ thought to ‘that’ thought you lose energy and momentum.
if you have an idea for an event and then you start thinking of past events you did that didn’t work, you start thinking about what you’re going to wear next week, before you know it, you’ve taken yourself out of flow!
7. Get internally focused
Spend time Every single day spending time focussing internally, I meditate daily, not asking for anything specific, just allowing myself to reset so that I can create space for creativity.
How will you know that you’re in Flow?
Ever been thinking about someone, then they call you? Or mean to buy something and someone you meet has that thing to give you?
Synchronicities are messages from God or the Universe, your spirit guides (whichever resonates with you) to let you know that you’re supported and you’re on track.
The more you’re in the flow, the more you’ll see synchronicities.
So you’ll be feeling good and will be sent signs to show you that you’re on track!
Do you find it easy to get in flow?
Did you find this post useful?
Feel free to comment below and share.
Thanks for reading
Tracy
Reserve your copy of ‘Plan It Now! Quit the Burnout Business and Become a Creative Entrepreneur‘ by Tracy Durrant (Business & Lifestyle Coach, Author and Speaker) Out December 4th