Flow And Immersion

Written By Colēgia

Being able to truly be in the moment is an essential quality of a healthy life. Two great ways to do this are to find your flow along with immersing yourself in the things you do. Today we want to talk about what these are along with some ways to work towards them.

Flow

Flow is commonly referred to in psychology as being “completely immersed in an activity.” What this means is being involved in something to the point where you feel that you are in harmony with what you're doing. A good example of this is exploring a creative outlet such as writing and letting the words naturally come to you as make meaning out of them. This is a good thing because it can establish a sense of both purpose and enjoyment. An athlete for example may find themselves completely in the zone when running and cause them to intensely be aware of the thing that they are doing. This allows us to change our mindset from thinking about the future to being aware of the present moment. A present-focused mindset allows us to see all the wonderful things we have and can help us foster feelings of gratitude.

“This is a good thing because it can establish a sense of both purpose and enjoyment.”

Immersion

Immersion is similar to flow in that it can be defined as “deep mental involvement.” The key difference we want to use with this is that we want to view it as a byproduct of an activity rather than the act itself. A good example of this would be being immersed in a fictional world. When truly engaged we feel that the world comes to life through the use of imagery within our minds. The same can be said for movies as well. When we watch a good movie we often find ourselves feeling as we are a part of that world with the combination of sights, sounds, and good storytelling. It's the act of it being believable despite the fantasy elements that drive this sensation. Immersion is good because it can be applied to more than just fiction. Finding ways to implement both this and flow are essential in order to make the most out of the things we do.

“A good example of this would be being immersed in a fictional world.”

Harmony

Both flow and immersion are closely related because they can provide enjoyment when experienced properly. One such way to use both of these is to listen to music while doing a creative activity. Good music makes you feel like you are one with your soundscape and doing an activity you love can help solidify that. Music specifically can promote feelings of joy and happiness which can then be used to channel towards your artwork. We can also apply this to when we are studying as well. We can opt to listen to a podcast about the topic we are studying while also writing down our thoughts on it. It's the ability to use multiple of our senses to do a deep dive into the content we truly love that can help us foster feelings of gratitude.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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