Reading Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has actually got me thinking about my life here at college. I’ve begun to think about activities that put me into flow and I sometimes even think of why certain things make me feel bad. I think that chapter eight in Flow had some personal significance for me, because the chapter is literally titled, “Enjoying Solitude and Other People”. It made me think about how I interact with other people, and even more importantly, how I act with myself.
While reading chapter eight, I actually hit one of those “Aha!” moments, because I found a passage that I could really apply to my initial days at college. In this particular passage, Csikszentmihalyi talks about what teenagers think about when they are alone. I know that I would personally be thinking, “What can some old guy possibly know about what teenagers think?” However, Csikszentmihalyi nails an idea right on the head when he says, “In other words, with nothing to do, the mind is unable to prevent negative thoughts from elbowing their way to center stage”. I personally experienced this, because I noticed that when I had nothing to do, I would begin to think about home, which would then lead to an endless list of comparisons between my life at college and my life at school. Considering the fact that I loved my home life, college life has virtually no chance when it comes to making me feel more comfortable. I realized that every instance where something felt uncomfortable or something happened that I didn’t like, I would instantly think, “This doesn’t happen at home” or something along those lines. I now realize that it is only natural to have these negative thoughts and that I really wasn’t giving college a chance. I don’t know if I will ever like college more than home life, but I am now more than willing to give it a fair chance.
In order to keep these negative thoughts out of my mind, I try to stay busy, and certain activities obviously work more effectively to clear my mind than others. One activity in particular that puts me into a state of flow, is working out. I know it’s no surprise, because I’ve talked about it before, but I just can’t get over how essential it has been for me, along with my sanity while here at college. No matter what has happened during the day, the day before, or even what I will have to do afterwards, all I think about during a workout is working out, nothing else. I am definitely a perfectionist, especially when it comes to my fitness and my diet. I know that if I want to be the best that I can be physically and mentally, I have to let go of all my thoughts and push my mind and body through the workout. The time begins to melt away like I am having fun, but what I’m doing is so challenging that all I can do is push my body to do more. If I am ever in a state of flow, it’s when I am working out.
Perhaps the next step is to find something other than working out that puts me in a state of flow. This way, I can spend more time in flow, and therefore less time thinking negative thoughts. Not only does exercising block out negative thoughts, but it seems to keep my mind sharp. This concept may not be new, but I have come across an article that I think helps to explain the concept, and even a little of the science behind the concept.
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