Are you doing what you most love to do?
The answer to this question during the Covid-19 pandemic may be a resounding “No”. For those of us who love to travel, or spend quality time in the physical presence of our friends, or love exercise classes, the answer is definitely “No”! But I challenge you to think deeper. Is there an opportunity for discovery?
Which activities make you come alive? Create a heightened sense of focus? Seem effortless? Have you looking up at the clock and saying, “how time has flown!” There may be a sense of “oneness” with the activity or a feeling that a force bigger than you is in the driver seat. Some describe this as being “in the flow”, or in the “zone of genius” +.
When we are in the zone, we are connected to our gifts and talents, using them to fulfill our potential and make an impact in the world. There are great examples of people living their lives fully within their zone, while others may only have had glimpses.
Here are some of my thoughts on how to discover our zones and spend more time in them:
How do we discover our zones?
- Gloria Steinem said “Birds find their flow like surfers catch their wave”.
- +Set aside a few minutes every day and sit in a quiet place without distraction. Then ask yourself, “Am I doing what I most love to do?”, “How can I use my talent to create abundance for myself and others?”, “Where in my life do I want to have the most impact?”. Journal the ideas or feelings that arise. Take your time. The wisdom within you has the answers.
- Reflect:
- Which projects give me energy? Which projects take it away? *
- Which people give me energy? Which people take it away? *
- +Through pain. Many of us recognize the successful person, making a good living, possessing all the material luxuries but feeling like they’re dying inside. They’ve been living in the zone of excellence for too long and it’s causing pain.
- Ask your loved ones or colleagues. We may not recognize our zone because it’s often something we find so easy that we don’t perceive it as a special talent or gift.
How do we transition to spending more time “in the zone”?
- Commit to saying “yes” to the things that bring you into your zone and saying “no” to the things that move you away from it.
- Schedule time “in the zone” into your day. Start with just 10 minutes and gradually increase.
- Recognize and manage the fears that will arise to sabotage your time in the zone. We may fear outshining those around us, feel “not good enough,” or “fundamentally flawed”. These fears can be skillfully managed. More to come in a future post.
Let’s take this time to pause, come into the present moment, and notice the activities and relationships that give us energy. How can we bring more of those activities and relationships into our day?
Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river– Lao Tzu
+ Gay Hendricks, The Big Leap
*hat tip to James Clear