Mindfulness, Flow and Spirituality

Flow: An optimal state of engagement in which a person perceives challenges to action as neither underutilizing nor overwhelming his or her existing skills and has clear, attainable goals and immediate feedback about progress.

• Volunteer for assignments and projects that challenge or stretch your existing skills. These tasks are more likely to bring about flow than are easy assignments.
• Pursue recreational activities that are known to induce flow such as playing chess, riding a mountain bike, rock-wall climbing, learning a second language, etc.

Mindfulness: Openness to novelty and sensitivity to context and perspective. Mindfulness involves cultivating an awareness of everyday happenings and physiological and psychological sensations; overcoming the desire to reduce uncertainty in everyday life; overriding the tendency to engage in automatic behavior; engaging less frequently in evaluating oneself, others, and situations.   

• Practice making nonjudgmental observations when working with classmates or colleagues. 

Spirituality: As commonly defined, the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that fuel and arise from the search for the sacred. 

• Find a spiritual haven at work or school that allows you to pursue the sacred during your breaks in the day.

~Practicing mindfulness, flow, and spirituality may have benefits for your psychological and physical health, your academic or work performance, and your social well-being. May Have  more profound effect on us~

Adapted from Snyder, C. R., Lopez, S. J. & Pedrotti, J. T. (2011). Positive psychology: The scientific and practical explorations of human strengths (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.(pp. 243-264).