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Flow
They pay millions for it.
They spend hours working for it.
They take days away from life to do it.
They will give up anything just to have it.
What is it?
FREEDOM.
And it’s not the feeling you’re thinking of.
The freedom I am talking about is mental freedom. Freedom that exists when your mind is unoccupied, released from the chains that keeps it worried, stressed, anxious. Free from the thing that keeps it on edge constantly in anticipation of what is next.
This freedom has no price, but it has the highest price.
People will do anything to attain this feeling.
Yesterday, I found this feeling.
I recently got into mountain biking. I used to do it as a kid, well I attempted to on a bike that was more than unfit for the types of trails I wanted to take it on. Doing this as a kid, I completely lost track of everything.
There was no time.
There was no curfew.
There was no work.
There was no school.
Everything was eliminated from my plate.
I thought that this feeling only came because I was a kid and had less responsibility. I was wrong.
Last year, I took a mountain bike out on the trail again. This time with my brother who is more into it than I am. In that moment, all I could focus on was the trail. I lost all sense of what time it was, what day it was, what I had coming up, anything.
My mind was empty and I loved it.
I knew I loved this feeling so I decided to make the investment in a nice mountain bike. It was a hard thing to wrap my head around paying that much, but then I reminded myself what I was paying for: freedom.
Yesterday, I realized why I paid so much for this bike.
I have never felt so free in a moment before. For the first time in a long time I was able to forget about all my responsibilities and just ride.
THE FLOW STATE IS FOUND WHEN THE MIND IS ENGROSSED IN THE PRESENT MOMENT.
It is hard to escape the demands of responsibility. The older you get, the more they seem to pile up on you. But you need to have an escape. I have found multiple escapes for myself.
I have realized there is a way to get out of my head. There is a way to escape from reality for a while and just be free. And like many others, I will pay out the wazoo for it.
The flow state is restorative. It is energizing. It is rejuvenating.
You need to find something that helps you forget where you are.
So whatever helps you do that, do it.
Ironically, I have a coworker who told me basically the same thing yesterday. This specific coworker was nearly crushed to death by a boat when he was in his twenties.
WHEN YOU ARE THAT CLOSE TO DEATH, YOU REALLY START TO LIVE.
If there is something you want to do, just do it.
You never know what will happen in the future and you don’t want to miss your chance. The stories my coworker has told me about all the things he has done blow my mind. I cannot believe all that he has done in his life, even with the injuries he sustained in his accident.
But he never second guesses what he does.
It helps him achieve his flow state, and he knows not to take it for granted.
My perspective has been molded.
I didn’t realize how important finding your flow is. It is life-changing. It helps you start living.
So whatever it is, find your flow.
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Thank you for reading!
My goal is to inspire self-improvement in others through my personal stories and experiences.
This is The Exploration.