Finding “Flow”

I, like many others, have always had the desire to find “flow” in the things that I do. The term “flow” refers to the state of mind and activity level that you reach once you have begun doing something where you no longer need to intentionally think about your actions and movements, and your thoughts can run free while you continue what you’re working on. Flow is something commonly mentioned in courses of Positive Psychology, and has been proven to enhance your mental health if you find flow consistently in the things that you do.

I find flow through drawing, playing music and painting. However, I am not particularly good at any of those activities, so I find it discouraging and unsatisfactory when I finish a project. I have been looking for things to do to enhance my personal mental health, and when I remembered flow I decided to sit down and think about things that I am good at, as well as activities that I truly enjoy doing. In this search for existential happiness, I remembered simpler times when I was a child and would sit down at my parents’ desktop computer and type away, letting my creativity spark the narrative for fictional characters and stories. I have always loved writing, but school ruined my desire to write freely and creatively because I was always stuck writing essays and papers that I did not want to be doing.

Now that I’m graduated, I’ve been looking for a creative outlet where I can put my writing skills to good use, while having the opportunity to write about things that I am passionate about. Hopefully this program will allow me to do so in a healthy manner so that I can find flow again!

To all readers, I hope that you find flow in your own creative niche; I hope that you can find a way to show the world how much you care about what you do and how much desire you put into your purpose. Even if you don’t think you’re good at something, do it anyways, purely for the enjoyment of the activity. I promise it will help improve your mental health, even if at the end of the day you end up throwing away your project because it didn’t meet your standards. Keep practicing and it will!