Things to Think About

“You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you’re doing is work or play.” Warren Beatty

This is indeed the life experience that most of us would love to have. But, how do you know if you are on the right track to get there? First of all, one must accept that there will be setbacks, or bumps in the road on this journey to this definition of success. But, over the years, I have found a very simple way to tell if the track you’re on is a good one. A psychologist by the name of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (yes, it is difficult to pronounce) came up with the theory of “flow”. He describes someone doing an activity in which they lose track of time and they forget themselves. Have you ever caught yourself saying, “Oh my! I completely lost track of the time.” This the “zone” you may have heard people talk about. Now, here’s the nice thing about the zone: everyone’s entry into the zone is different. It could come from putting a spread sheet together, or writing a speech, or solving a math problem, or working with children—an endless number of things depending solely upon you. To get to the place this quote talks of, you need to pay attention to those times you find yourself in the zone and let them reveal something to you, or lead you to another zone experience. And, as you start piecing together zone experiences, you just might find the track that leads you to that feeling that Beatty describes. What things put you in the zone?

Good luck on your journey!