From the course: Developing Your Emotional Intelligence

Finding your flow

From the course: Developing Your Emotional Intelligence

Finding your flow

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- When it comes to developing your emotional intelligence, you don't have to completely change the way you think or behave. There are techniques that you can use to do even more of the things that bring you satisfaction and joy by creating what psychologists call flow. So what exactly is flow? It's a concept taken from positive psychology. It's the practice of taking part in an activity that stretches your ability in some way and requires concentration, something that you have the potential to get better at and an activity you enjoy doing so much that time seems to stand still. Working in a state of flow will help you to reach peak performance and it will push your abilities and develop skills to achieve more. When you are working in a state of flow, often, it won't feel like work at all. You'll be taking part in activities that are interesting for you. The chances are you're good at activities that give you a sense of flow and you can capitalize on these activities to enhance your performance, whilst also using the experience of being in flow to support your psychological wellbeing. Emotionally, working in a state of flow is a positive experience. You will feel like you can tackle challenges effectively, you'll feel engaged and interested, and you'll have a sense of achievement, all of which will translate to positive emotions. Working in this way will also mitigate against some of the triggers you experience that can hijack your performance, increasing your chances of reaching your potential, and achieving the most favorable outcome, even in challenging situations. Take a moment now to pause and reflect. What are your flow activities? What activities challenge and stretch you in a positive way? What makes you feel so engaged that time can pass without you noticing? Finding flow in your working life can build your psychological strength by reinforcing the belief that you can tackle challenges, because after all, flow activities are challenging. These activities can also help to recharge your energy and rebuild resilience. If you're feeling confident after working in a state of flow, you're more likely to view challenges positively. Whereas if you are feeling stressed and you have a challenge to deal with on top of that, you're not so likely to react in a way that will help you to tackle the situation effectively. Finding your flow and working with flow will help you to build your emotional intelligence and positively reframe how you think about and react to challenges.

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