danymarlies

Recently, I was sitting with a friend. It was the day the first version of the blog went online, and I had a lot to talk about. Other things were happening all around me: digitizing photos, getting into photography, reorganizing my workspace. And finally, I decided to sew my own camera bag because I couldn’t find anything I liked. Then my friend said, “It’s great that you’re in the flow!” And I immediately said, “Flow is a lie.” Only to correct myself straight afterwards. Because, of course, flow isn’t a lie. But the myth is. So what exactly is it?

What I understand by flow is that something is in flux. One thing immediately follows the next, so you don’t even ask yourself what the next step might be. Everything suddenly makes sense; it happens almost automatically. You’re just in the flow. That sounds like you’re a passive part, drifting along with the current – like a piece of driftwood. But in my opinion, that assumption isn’t correct at all. You’re anything but passive. Flow doesn’t just happen on its own.

Looking back on the past few weeks, the flow was a lot of work. I had to take many small steps to even initiate it. This was anything but a passive position in this process. My experience is that if you sit quietly and wait for the flow, you can wait a very long time. You have to encourage it.

I think it’s about gradually getting yourself into a certain mindset that creates the space for ideas and thoughts to develop. This requires two things: First, you have to start somewhere, and the rest is a great deal of discipline. And this is where the myth of flow comes into play: It’s not a divine spark that leaps out of the blue. You have to work for it.

My arch enemy of flow is ruminating. I can idly think about something for weeks – only to then just drop it. In the meantime, I’ve come up with many reasons: I can’t do it, nobody wants that, I don’t need it, what a hassle, and all sorts of other things. I’m currently working hard on breaking this habit and replacing it with something else: If you feel like doing a project, start somewhere. And preferably right away.

The next step is discipline. No matter how uninspired you may feel at times, it helps to still do something every day. If you get stuck at one point, just move on to something else that’s also related. You can always find something that suits your mood that day. Take this blog, for example: If I’m struggling with a text, I start choosing music or editing a few photos. Sooner or later, I’ll need that anyway. And it’s as if the text suddenly becomes jealous that it no longer has my attention: The words return to my mind, and I make progress again from that point.

What you maintain in this way is your inner focus on the overarching topic. Over time, this expands, and you become much more aware of the next steps that make sense. A mindset develops, in which ideas and thoughts practically come naturally. From the outside, it looks like everything just comes to you, and quite honestly, that’s exactly how it feels when you’re in flow. In fact, however, you’ve done a lot to ensure that this point eventually arrives.

And when everything seems to stand still: When your mind isn’t moving, it’s your body’s turn. Go outside, take a long walk. Give your senses some fresh stimuli, and be surprised what the flow makes out of it.