It just hit me.
One month into 2012, and I realized I’ve been focused on the wrong one-little-word. I thought I was sure, even started writing about it: In pyschology, flow is a state of completely focused motivation. To be lost in your work – to flow – is to engage wholeheartedly. Flow cannot be forced. It can happen anytime, though it’s more likely when you face a challenge with skill. Flow is attentive, meditative, rejuvenating, and joyful. But something wasn’t right.
The first clue came when I switched out the letters above my desk. Present looked so beautiful, and I told myself it was just the change that made flow look so… wrong. I couldn’t quite commit to posting about flow, and since I couldn’t let myself off the hook either, I decided to add a widget for my Reading Challenge. Huh, I thought, I’m doing a food challenge, too. And a running challenge. Seems like my word for 2012 might just be challenge.
Once I let it in, I knew it was right. Flow is beautiful and elusive. It can’t be guaranteed. But it can be cultivated- when we face a challenge with skill. Sometimes those challenges lead to a state of reverie; sometimes they’re just hard. Whatever.
I haven’t put challenge up above my desk yet – I’m going to need more Alphabetown cards first – but I have a feeling it’s going to be beautiful.
