Living in the Flow....

Living in the Flow

Living in the flow. Are you living in the flow? What is the flow anyway? for me it is the energy of positive action. It builds and builds the more I am in it. When I am taking positive action and things are happening I feel the power of the flow of positive energy. It rejuvenates me and gives me more energy. Part of it is creative energy. The ability to create and move quickly into action. For example, two days ago I was working on a tele-class on enhancing employee performance. I am offering it next week. As I worked on it, I thought about the importance of the information, the power of the information to impact lives and businesses. I also thought of a friend and colleague that has offered similar but different material to her clients. And the idea of collaboration was born. I emailed her and invited her to collaborate on a joint venture project. She agreed. We talked it through and designed a 6 week tele-seminar. I built the web page for it yesterday, and we pulled together bonuses and ideas. We are living in the flow. The creative juices are flowing and we are creating. It empowers you to take action in a variety of areas.

This newsletter is another example. Because the creative energy is flowing this article and newsletter come together easily and quickly. So, how do we get in the flow and then how do we stay there once we are there? And if for some reason we get knocked out of the flow how do we jump quickly back in? These are each vital questions.

1. How do we get in the flow?

   We have to know ourselves, what turns on our creativity? And consciously move ourselves into action to be in that energy.
   

2. How do we stay in the flow once we are there?

   It's partially a conscious choice that we make, to be in flow. We control our consciousness, we can decide to stay in that energy and build upon it. Once you are in the flow, it consumes you. For me, excitement and energy build, and creativity breeds creativity.
   

3. How do we jump back into the flow when we get knocked out?

   This takes conscious action on your part, commitment and determination. When you get knocked off a horse, you have to take action to climb back on the horse. And, we all have heard the saying "get back on the horse". What a great metaphor for what needs to happen when you get knocked off the flow of creativity. You need to take action, intentional action to get back into the flow. The type of action you need to take depends upon what knocked you down It might mean what you do to heal from tragedy or trauma, or from simple interruptions. One of the important keys is that it takes intentional action. It doesn't just happen. You know yourself and some of the things that can help you get back into the flow. But what if you are really knocked down? Then, you might need to reach out to others to help you figure out the action you need to take. To give you the action tools for moving forward and jumping back into the flow. One tool that I love and talk about a lot with clients is visioning. Vision the vision. Write it down, read it, talk it and you will start living it.

Once you have experienced being in the flow it's a place you want to return to, it feels good. Not only does it feel good, but you are moving forward at what feels like lightening speed. You are achieving, and performing.

As we move into a new year take time to reflect on the times that you have been in the flow. And learn from your experiences of the past year for staying in the flow in 2007.