Flow: The Optimal Experience

 

The term Flow refers to a positive mental state of mind where we totally absorbed and focus on an activity and become completely detached from our surroundings. 

In flow the state we lose the track of time and perform to the best of our ability, some people call it Being in a zone.

 

The Benefits of Flow State:

 

1      Flow helps us to become more productive as in this state we spend more time doing the activity and don’t get distracted.

2      Flow releases dopamine which is a feel-good hormone, it promotes a happy mood and positive feelings, and also it provides us a deep sense of satisfaction.

3      Flow gives us a sense of clarity as we become aware of what we are doing and how to accomplish the task at hand.

4      Flow enables us to become more focused on a goal.

5      Flow makes us learn to tackle various challenges during a project.

Self-Sabotaging: A Self Defeating Behaviour

Self-Sabotaging occurs when we behave in such a manner or take such actions which stop us from reaching our full potential or goals. It is very challenging to overcome this behaviour and sometimes it is so subtle that we don’t recognise how we are hurting ourselves and getting in our own way to achieve desired results.

We all do experience it, sometimes we adopt such destructive behaviour consciously while sometimes we act on it unconsciously, not realising this will not allow us to accomplish what we want from life and undermine our success.

 

Self-sabotaging behaviour can affect one or more areas of our life from everyday decisions to long term goals.

 

There are number of types of self-sabotaging but the most common types are:

1. Lack of self believe
2. Worthlessness
3. Lack of self-esteem
4. Chronic worrying
5. Stress eating
6. Procrastination
7. Substance use
8. Social withdrawal
9. Self-criticism
10. Poor self-care
11. Need of control

 How to stop self-sabotaging: 5 Tips

1. Self-reflection (To be aware of yourself)
2. Creating self-compassion
3. Reducing negative self-talk
4. Making small improvements consistently
5. Stop comparing yourself with others

Hopefully, these tips will help you to overcome self-sabotage behaviour and if not you can always seek professional help.

Stop Comparing Yourself To Others and Live a Better Life

Comparing ourselves with others is something most of us do unconsciously.  

These comparisons can be like other’s lifestyles to ours, Their grades to our grades, Their wardrobe to ours and/ Or their social media profile to our social media profile, and so on and so forth. 

We may practice this to make an improvement in our life but constantly comparing ourselves to others not only drains our positive energy but also makes us insecure and gives us not enough feelings.

In this downward spiral, we forget all our God-gifted talents and hard-earned skills which took some serious time and effort.

 

According to Social comparison theory is the idea that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. The theory was developed in 1954 by psychologist Leon Festinger.

 

Comparing ourselves with others is a Harmful and distracting process as in this we lose our Focus and control of our life. We miss the reality and we want to see quick results as compared to others. Especially in this social media age, we are living in, People share their

Best moments and highlight reel on their social media platform. We miss the whole point of their struggle that how much time and effort they put into it, and what challenges they face to achieve this, or we may compare our average with their best and then end up feeling bad for ourselves.

 

Constant comparison with others leads to an unhealthy and toxic lifestyle, where one invites more and more frustration with each of the comparisons.  

 

Constant comparison is bad for mental health. Here are some tips to reduce self-comparison with others

 

1.     Practice Self Love

2.     Make a daily gratitude journal and count your blessings

3.     Trust the process, everyone has a unique journey

4.     Believe in yourself and appreciate others too   

5.     Take small actions toward your short term/ long term goals

6.     Stop seeking other's approval and feel your own power

7.     Compare yourself with your past self and see how much improvement you have made

8.     Don’t allow yourself to spend too much time on social media

9.     Remember you also possess some strengths and others have some weaknesses too

10.  Accept your flaws without judgment

Pause is Good for Mental Health

During this stressful time with lots of noise around us, Selfcare should become our top priority.

There are plenty of choices one can make to avoid the noise that causes the worry, Pause ( A conscious slowdown) is one of them. A pause not only clams our brain but also enables us to handle the challenges of life in a better way.

It is a healthy balance between action and inaction.

A 10-minute pause can refresh us, Makes us more productive at work, and create an attitude of gratitude towards life 🙌

Mental Well-being

Mental Well-being is a state of physical, mental, and social wellbeing. It is a gap between how we feel and how we act. Mental wellbeing determines our behavior towards our day-to-day routine and enables us to handle different situations Like stress.

There is no age limit to experience good mental well-being or poor mental well-being. It can affect a young person or an old person. It is an integral part of health as it may lead to other diseases like Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease.

Look after your mental wellbeing.

6 Signs Of Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal human emotion. We all do experience it occasionally at some point in our lives. For many of us, it comes and goes from time to time. It lasts for a short time, But if this emotion is more frequent and persists for days and weeks then you may are experiencing anxiety. Some signs of anxiety may look like.

1) Excessive worrying
2) Tense Muscles
3) Sleep Problems
4) Unable to stay clam
5) Shortness of breath
6) Unable to concentrate

These signs can be managed with professional help to live a better life.