NLP Connections - the ultimate NLP resource on the internet - and the largest NLP forum!

Ever feel “in the zone?” The reason I ask is because I recently finished a book titled Flow in which its author, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (I still can’t pronounce it, and I'll refer to him as C. from now on!), talks about the experience of flow. It is similar to the term “in the zone” insomuch as that it prescribes to the elated feeling one has when his mind and body are totally committed to completing a certain activity or endeavor. C. describes this experience by providing real life examples of individuals who have experienced flow and, through years of research and practicing psychology, expounds one of the secrets to becoming truly happy and content with life. His research points to flow experienced through many activities such as extreme sports, work, and family life. With a disciplined mind, one can experience flow in any aspect of his existence and essentially train the mind to enjoy, or at least be content with, all of life’s dramas.

Trying to control your life production and all of its trivialities is a monumental task, and experiencing flow, I believe, is not about total control. Instead, I choose to look at it as a stage for lifelong learning and the opportunity to use every second to benefit your life - obviously no easy task . Everyone has their own challenges and difficulties to face, so there will be pitfalls along the way; the point is to learn from and understand those pitfalls will be overcome. Take, for example, running late for work or an appointment. Imagine sleeping in and waking to realize that if you don’t get up now and get ready for the day, then you will be late for whatever commitment that requires your presence that morning. Now, I had this little problem the other day and decided I was not going to be late, but knew that I would be cutting it close seeing as how I still had to shower, change and make it to the train - about a half-mile walk. I then went into a sort of autopilot overdrive that proved to be a success because I made it to the train competing against the very real possibility of missing it. The entire time, however, I was passionately focused on the task at hand - making it to the train - and made the most of every second because I literally had none to spare. This wouldn’t be my ideal experience of flow, but it illustrates C.’s point well, in that you can choose to be in a state of flow, you can make the choice to drive through on a commitment, new habit, or idea and make life’s challenges a good learning experience.

Those challenges provide an opportunity for efficiency – it can be applied to almost anything! You may not have enough challenges in your life at which to be efficient, so you could be skeptical about flow and all of this senseless drab. But my response to you would be that you should consider changing your perspective and looking at the idea of flow and efficiency as an opportunity for growth and infinite happiness. Your mind is the source and it can be an amazing - and efficient - machine.

How is Flow related to NLP? Well, and I'm a bit new to NLP and the practice of personal growth and development, but the action of being in flow involves putting yourself into the right mindset to accomplish a certain task. This can be applied to many of the presuppositions of NLP, specifically, I think, the presupposition that "the mind and body are interlinked and affect each other." If you commit yourself totally to any task, both physically and mentally, then even if you fail (which you won't, if you believe in the presupposition that there is no failure, only feedback) you will be better off than you were in the first place.

Flow is a quick read - not drawn-out and boring like some psychological or philosophical works - and C. does a good job keeping the reader interested. He is a very good storyteller and incorporates many examples of the experience and practice of flow into his writing. I would recommend this book for anyone that is serious about NLP because it teaches you a way to find happiness and efficiency in your life and provides a framework for disciplining the mind - all many things that I think are prerequisites for a successful NLP practitioner.