In our last blog, we talked about stress management tips to help you and your people feel more balanced and stress free. Part of being “in flow” requires us to proactively reduce or avoid stress where we can so we can live more fulfilling and enriched lives as professionals and as human beings.

This means leveraging a positive mindset to help you ride the inevitable ups and downs with grace. Looking at life through a different lens and being open-minded can help you in many ways. 

Imagine this…what if you could be the best possible version of yourself as an influencer or leader for yourself, your people, and your organization? What might that look like? And how would you feel about yourself? When we visualize ourselves as already “feeling” the way we want to, coping well, helping others, we become an extremely capable servant leader.

We all have an inner critic that loves to tell us how we don’t measure up. But the inner critic only holds power if you let it.

Do not get me wrong, my inner critic is still very much alive, and I am appreciative of it because sometimes it has helped keep me safe in what could have been disastrous situations. Kind of like an angel and devil sitting on each one of your shoulders, your “good and bad” voices compel you to act or behave a certain way. But it's your choice what you do.

To bring this to life, think of the concept of Yin and Yang. We need it to balance ourselves and keep our energy “in flow”.  

Yin and Yang is very much about creating harmony in your life – your home, your work, and your relationships. I like to come at it through a different lens and describe it as being “in flow”.  When we are “in flow” we are clear about what we want to accomplish, how we want to be perceived, and then we live our lives in alignment with that higher purpose. When we are “in flow” we perform at our best, we feel good, and the negative energies which include our negative self-talk remain in check, allowing us to live a very happy and fulfilling life on all levels.

What does being “in flow” feel like to you? How would you describe it? If I were to try and define it, it might read something like this:

‍Being in flow is when you are true to yourself. You are clear about what your higher purpose is, and how that shapes your attitude, thinking and behavior on a daily basis. 

Being “in flow” means different things to different people. The point is when you can identify what that means to you and why it is important, you are stepping into living a more purposeful and intentional life. When you are in “your flow”, it feels empowering, and it's exciting, so much so, that you feel like anything is possible. You just need to take action towards it.

Do you proactively pause throughout your day or week to reflect on what’s going well and what needs to change that aligns with your purpose? I also like to call this gut intuition. When we intrinsically feel that the course of action in front of us aligns with our values and purpose, we know we’re on the right path.

Benefits of Being “In Flow”‍

• You focus on what is most important to you and honor yourself first. Leadership is an inside- out-job and it starts with you feeling grounded and “in flow” so that you can show up as the best version of you.
  
  
• Being “in flow” can lead to improved performance and researchers have found that one of the major benefits of being “in flow” is that it can enhance human performance allowing us to achieve our goals at an accelerated pace.
  
  
• Foster ongoing learning and development as individuals who continually seek new challenges to “be in flow” will expand their abilities and confidence level.
  
  
• When we are intentional and purposeful in how we show up, we will rise to conquer challenges and deal with adversity in more productive ways.
  
  
• Being “in flow” increases enjoyment, personal satisfaction, and fosters innovation. When we think at our best, we perform at our best and seek out new ways of doing things and solving problems.

Flow and stress are mutually exclusive states of being, and we can choose how we show up by being present and in the moment as we have written about many times in past blogs. Life is all about choices. Are you choosing how you want to live yours or are you in reactive mode trying to survive? What could you do differently so can you feel more “in flow” and live a life that you have always desired? 

Need an objective ear to talk things through? We’re standing by to listen.

You can reach us at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca or by calling 1.416.560.1806.

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