Dear PiePie,
There might reach a point where you are so busy with whatever consumes your time – work, family, passion projects etc – that your entire life is devoted to it. Almost every part of your waking hours is geared towards maximising your output in that chosen field.
You are still, of course, meeting with friends and fulfilling obligations, but the mind is solely and utterly focused on a goal or an aspect of your life. And every day you wake up to tackle yet more challenges in that realm.
It’s not actually a bad state of flow, especially if you enjoy what you do, as I do with my current job. But the challenge of that is it becomes all-encompassing.
It is the canoeist tackling the rapids, clearing obstacle after obstacle, one after another. No time for reprieve. No time to celebrate that one obstacle has just been conquered since countless more lay ahead. Rinse and repeat.
That’s not really healthy as well, even if, by and large, it is probably good to be in a highly productive state, doing what you like and are happy to devote most of your energy to. But every so often, in that state of flow, it remains worthwhile to extricate yourself from the rapids to find pools of still water.
Where. Nothing. Happens.
Where you are simply left alone with your thoughts. Where there isn’t yet another obstacle to overcome. Where you can reflect on the many obstacles that have been conquered, give yourself a little pat on your back, and pump yourself up for the countless more hurdles to come.
Because when you’re in the rapids, you act on instinct. On quick twitch muscles that have been honed. In still waters, you have a chance to reflect if those instinctual responses should be tweaked and fine-tuned. Perhaps no change is needed. But you’ll never know till you stop to reflect.
You shouldn’t be in still waters for too long, of course. For what’s the use of preparing yourself, mentally and physically, if there isn’t any rapids ahead that you are looking to tackle?
So this advice applies ONLY if you find yourself in the rapids for too long. Find some time to change a setting and zone out.
Love, Dad
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