Go with the flow

HOW TO GO WITH THE FLOW: 10 PRACTICAL TIPS

Table of Contents


INTRODUCTION

“What does it mean to go with the flow?” Let’s understand. Often, we find ourselves in a state when no matter how hard we try to achieve something, it stays away from our grasp, be it getting a promotion at job or finding a good life-partner or even maintaining a healthy eating habit. What doesn’t work for us – at times gives us a sense of failure and leads to a sense of disappointment and stress.

Recurrence of such instances in life may even place our wandering mind in the clouds of negativity for a long time. So, is there a better way to deal with all this and be calmer in times of hardships? Is there a way we train our brain to be more open to other possibilities and solutions than to be gulped in the agony of past failures? Simple solution is – Learn to Go with the flow.

HOW TO GO WITH THE FLOW?

Learning to go with the flow can be difficult at times and what works for someone else may not necessarily work for you. But that’s the whole point! It indeed follows what I call it – “learn a way and define your own way” . We all start this journey from a different mindset & thought process, so be kind to yourself during the process and take it slow. Remember going with the flow is not about winning or losing , or about right way or wrong way, it’s just about giving yourself flexibility at psychological level, a mindset shift to consider other possibilities and solutions rather than being stuck. Here are few tips that worked so well for me – 

1. Practice Self-Awareness

  • It’s a simple yet one of the most powerful techniques that can help with journey to go with the flow. It reflects on just observing the present moment as- is without being judgmental of your emotions. According to a Research published in Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior , practicing self-awareness can be beneficial to overall psychological health. It trains the mind to be more flexible and gives a detached view of the situation and helps improve decision-making with emotional stability.

2. Let Go of Perfectionism

  • Trying to perfect every situation can sometimes be overwhelming. While it may work in your favour on some occasions, other times, its negative traits may cause harm to mental well-being. Remember it’s okay to not be best at everything as that only goes on to show that you are a human being.

3. Find your Ikigai

  • Ikigai in Japanese means “a reason for being”, a concept that refers to something that gives a sense of purpose in life. It can be anything such as your hobbies or interests which puts you in a state of “flow”. Being in a state of flow simply means that you get immersed so much into something that you forget about other things going on in life. According to a study entering into the flow state can actually improve performance and is accompanied with positive mood states. 

4. Acknowledge your emotions

  • Instead of ignoring or pushing away your emotions, acknowledge them. Remember how you feel is not always in your control, how you respond to it makes all the difference. When you are disappointed with something, just say to yourself “Yes, I am not feeling happy about this.”. This simple acknowledgement of feelings can go a long way as you take the first step towards healing.

5. Surrender to the COSMOS

  • This has always worked for me. Surrendering to the cosmos gives me the sense that there are bigger powers at play in the universe and I am just here to do my part in it. Sometimes when things are totally not in my control even if I try repeatedly, I would just surrender to the universe and observe God’s plan. 

6. Breathe

  • When feeling angry, just breathe! when feeling sad, just breathe! Few deep breaths in difficult situations can immediately give calming effects to your brain. 

7. Be Flexible

  • At times, we are so obsessed with our goals that we forget that not everything goes as planned. So be flexible when things don’t go as planned. It’s good to be disciplined about achieving your short term and long term goals, what’s not very helpful is to be rigid about the ways we try to achieve them. When you are flexible, you always are giving your mind a chance to be open to different and perhaps more effective ways to achieve your goals.

8. Be physically active

  • This is another method that works very well for me. Being physically active doesn’t necessarily mean working out hard in a gym. It could just be taking a walk in the park or doing some yoga or going for a run, basically anything that you like to do to keep you moving. According to a study published in CNNsuggest that even as little as 10 mins of daily workout has significant benefits to our mind and body. Remember, a calm mind is more equipped to deal with tough situations and can help to go with the flow.

9. Be kind to yourself

  • First step to being kind to yourself is to make peace with the fact that it’s ok to make mistakes. Don’t get hung up on past actions for too long and think of yourself as any other human who can also make mistakes. Have a detached view of the situation at hand and try to make peace with it without being so judgemental about it. 

10. Get Support

  • Finally, if nothing works out , it’s always a good choice to consult a therapist as they can guide you to cope with different situations and stay in the moment.

CONCLUSION

In summary, problems, hardships are a part of life and give meaning to us humans. Letting go of control is not easy but following the above tips may help you next time to go with the flow when things are not going as planned.

Sources and Credits –

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