Now, more than ever, build time to take care of yourself

I thought that life was coming at me fast before we elected a new president last year. Ever since January, doesn’t it see like everything has just accelerated 25 percent? Throw a bunch of anxiety, worry, outrage, and hand wringing on top of that, and these are the times we live in.

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Now, I know what you’re expecting. Usually this is the time I start to rail against the system or attempt to solve race relations in America, not today my friend. Today, I felt like going all new age-y on you and reminding you to take care of yourself and do something fun.

Now, not just any fun. Something that puts you in a state of flow. I’ve been reading about this for the past few years and I’ve found it to be life changing.

From wikipedia: “In positive psychology, flow, also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.”

So it’s not enough to just go have a random good time. What’s best is finding the things for you that induces a sense of flow. I’m telling you that it will help you in these stressful times more than anything I’ve found. I guess you can wait outside the pot shop or liquor store, but this is more pure.

Now, I’m no expert on this, but I’ll give you a few of my recent moments in the zone.

At the Mariners game last week, I turned to my friend in the bottom of the 9th and said, “We could really use a walk off triple right about now.” The very next pitch was a home run. For the next 10 minutes or so of celebration and high fives, I was in flow. It brought me energy.

I went to visit a friend of 25 years and we went to a fancy restaurant. Between the laughter at old jokes, the frequent pours of saki, and the assault of deliciousness, we were in the zone.

A recent long walk and not so long run through the woods got me there, too. You probably know all about this option.

The point is, I just want to encourage you to build these times into your life. It really does make a difference. Pull out your calendar and go back through the last 6 months. What places, people, and things gave you a feeling of energized focus? What things put you in the zone?

Do more of those things.