I now have the words to describe how I cope in the current times.

Some days I was looking at my life through a foggy windshield. I found I was, at times, languishing. It was a sense of stagnation.

Languishing was causing me to lose focus, and my motivation was reduced. I wanted to stop being indifferent to my own indifference.

The solution – flow. It is a feeling I have when I’m in the zone. It includes things like alliterations, mastery, mindfulness and mattering. OK, a bit of a stretch.

Here’s my personal example. I write a Blog every week, Thursday mornings, in fact. Mastering the writing was a challenge. My teachers over the years are probably shaking their heads that I am actually writing regularly. And folks are enjoying my writing. But I knew I was weak with grammar. What the heck is a dangling participle anyway? Software is not only keeping me out of the grammar-weeds, but I’m also learning to write better. I seemed to have mastered the actual writing component, at least above a minimum requirement. Hence, it is not the main focus of readers’ reactions.

Mindfulness. An old concept with a new label. It just means being focused and very aware of yourself. So every Thursday morning, I set out my tools in the kitchen. For about two hours, the world around me stops as I zero in on selecting a topic, research, then write and finally edit.

Mattering. It is healthy if that effort matters to at least one other person, a family member or all the way to anonymous Blog readers. The feedback I get on the website and in emails tells me the Blog regularly resonates with others.

Flow involves momentum. The Blog has led me to learn about being a better writer. This led to getting input from a professional writer, which led me to work on how to write a play.

I look forward to the ‘play-time’ writing. I set aside times every week in my calendar.

Something called time-confetti describes how we chop up our time into small bits. Repeatedly checking our social media is an example. Better boundaries can result in a better flow.

Please give this a bit of a think. Try to identify one of your behaviours that tend to block your own flow, and identify one of your current flow behaviours.  Please tell me about your findings.

I’m curious about your thoughts. Please leave your comment.below.

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Volunteer Blogger

TheBlog@stalbertseniors.ca