Put A Little Flow In Your Life PRC Workshop #6 7 May 2009 May 7, 2009

RELAXED AWARENESS BRAIN GYM Neck Roll Sit upright or stand Roll neck slowly all the way around Do it with your eyes closed or open Do it in both directions

ACTIVITY 1-Minute Pause What images come to mind when you hear the word “flow”?

CONNECT - PAST

CONNECT - FUTURE You can improve the quality of your life by making sure that the conditions of flow are present each day.

BIG PICTURE “The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

GOALS Define flow List the components of flow List ways to help your children get into flow over the end-of-year holiday

RELAXED AWARENESS BRAIN GYM Names in the Air  Make large movements with your preferred hand  Write from L to R crossing your midline  Do it with each hand, then both hands simultaneously

WHAT IS FLOW? Mental state of operation in which you are fully immersed in what you are doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in how the activity is going Optimal experience

PLEASURE Experience Lacks a sense of achievement Lacks active contribution to the result

SIMILAR TERMS In the zone On the ball In the groove Being at one with things Ecstacy (religion) Aesthetic rapture (arts)

HAPPINESS & FLOW It is the full involvement of flow, rather than happiness, that makes for excellence in life. We can be happy experiencing the passive pleasure of a rested body, warm sunshine, or the contentment of a serene relationship, but this kind of happiness is dependent on favorable external circumstances. The happiness that follows flow is of our own making, and it leads to increasing complexity and growth in consciousness.

RESEARCH ESM > 250,000 surveys Results Unhappy when doing nothing Happy when doing things

RESEARCH Results Universal 15% - never been in flow 20% - experience flow often 40% - experience flow sometimes 25% - experience flow rarely Experience flow doing favourite activities Rare in passive leisure activities

HOW to Get Into FLOW

CHALLENGES We encounter many challenges in our lives. The way we interact with those challenges determines our happiness.

LOW CHALLENGE Too little challenge

HIGH CHALLENGE Too much challenge

CHALLENGE/SKILL MATCH Just enough challenge

OBSTACLES Preference for relaxation Paradox of work and play > time spent in high- challenge/high-skill at work (felt efficacy) > time spent in low- challenge/low-skill at leisure (felt apathy)

HOW DOES FLOW FEEL? Completely involved, focused, concentrating Sense of ecstasy outside everyday reality Inner clarity Sense of serenity

HOW TO GET INTO FLOW Engage in a task Challenging Have prerequisite skills Control of consciousness

The PATH to FLOW Make it a gameRules and challenges Set a goalPurpose behind efforts Focus your attentionRelease from distractions Let yourself go Don’t strive/strain - Enjoy Feel the elationNatural result You can do moreMore energetic/creative

READING Flow in reading Texts for pleasure reading or interest provided > flow Fiction produced more flow than nonfiction

FLOW AT WORK > flow at work than in free time Work can be like a game Clear goals Feedback Encourages concentration Matches skills with levels of difficulty

FLOW in FREE TIME Activities require an initial investment of attention before becoming enjoyable Relaxing leisure is not bad in small doses Active leisure that helps you grow takes ingenuity and attention

SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY Flow is allowed to develop, not forced Attention is practiced and trained Techniques Muscle relaxation/meditation Interference Lack of ability to manage distraction Stress Poor mood control

USES OF FLOW Education - overlearning Reduce stress Museum exhibits Senior citizens Improve quality of life

FLOW ACTIVITIES Sports Arts Literary Mind/body Work/friends Routines Adversity

WHY FLOW IS IMPORTANT? "How to live life as a work of art, rather than as a chaotic response to external events..."

BENEFITS OF FLOW Feelings of enjoyment Encourages you to persist at & return to an activity - fosters the growth of skills over time Time spent in flow is related to increased self-esteem < delinquency with high adversity at home or school

RESEARCH Dopamine Neurotransmitter Regulates concentration, attention, and inhibition Controls emotions, movement, and the ability to experience pain & pleasure People with ADHD have less dopamine in their prefrontal lobes Sustained dopamine release is associated with feelings of elation

RELAXED AWARENESS BRAIN GYM Owl Grip shoulder and look over it as you breathe in Turn head slowly to the other shoulder as you breathe out Change hands

ACTIVITY Think-Pair-Share How can you help your children and family get into FLOW this holiday?

Think of your fellow man Flowing across the land Put a little flow in your life. You see it’s getting late So please don’t hesitate Put a little flow in your life. And the world will be a better place, For you, and me Just wait and see. Another day flows by, We know the reason why, Put a little flow in your life. If you want the world to know You’re going to let it flow, Put a little flow in your life. And the world will be a better place, For you and me You just wait and see. Take a good look around, And if you’re feelin’ down Put a little flow in your life. I hope when you decide Gladness will be your guide Put a little flow in your life. And the world will be a better place,And the world will be a better place,For you and meYou just wait and see. Put a little flow in your life.Put a little flow in your life.

QUESTIONS

CONTACT INFORMATION William Reed Rhodes, Ph.D. ES Learning Support Teacher Beijing City International School 77 Baiziwan Nan Er Road Beijing (ext 1218)