Experiencing a new level of flow

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about my experience of entering a new dimension of flow by combining two different flow activities.

I already wrote about the way how I was motivated by the state of flow while I was running [1]. While being in the state of flow, everything except for the current activity becomes unimportant. The only goal is to continue and to remain in the state of flow as this is one of the most rewarding feelings. A person, who is in the state of flow, is completely immersed in the activity, enjoys every part of it and does not want to reach the end. In the end, being in the state of flow is the wish to never stop experiencing the current situation. This is also the main reason why flow keeps a person motivated to tackle a new challenge that will exhaust all of his skills in order to overcome it.

Recently, I have experienced a new dimension of flow while I was running. Normally, the state of flow is caused by the activity itself as it provides me with a constant stream of feedback about my progress. This time, however, the „regular“ running flow was enhanced due to the fact that I was running in a very energetic environment: I was running along the shoreline of one of the East Frisian Island during high tide. Not only that I was running right next to the approaching waves, I was also exposed to a light rain and a very strong wind that made the athmosphere even more energetic.

Running along the shoreline

Looking back on this particular running session, it seems that the state of flow reached a new dimension as I combined two different flow activities. Being exposed to the elements and watching the waves can be very exciting and cause the state of flow. At the same time, I was following my passion of running and thus I was already in the state of flow. In the end, I have combined both activities and, as a result of this, I have experienced a new dimension of flow that caused a very rewarding feeling.