We’ve all been there. The jarring moment you realize your phone didn’t charge overnight, causing your alarm to not go off, making you late for work...
As you frantically get ready, you feel disorganized and behind already. You silently curse the electronic powers that be, and while rushing to get out the door, becoming even more disconnected with your day. This is not the way to start a new week!
By 10:00am, you’ve largely recovered. You’ve plugged back in – both connecting to a power source for your phone and engaging in meaningful work for your purpose. By diving into projects that spark your passion, you achieve a productive rhythm and reclaim the day! #Success
Finding Your Flow
Now let’s contrast how the day above started and ended: Waking up frazzled and rushed to investing time into something purposeful that helped stimulate positive energy.
Positive psychologists call the latter state flow: the mental state where you are fully immersed, energized, and connected with an activity that brings you purpose, meaning, and joy. In flow, you are fully charged because you’re plugged in to the right things.
When was the last time you felt that connected to something or someone? The good news is that you have some control over how you choose to connect and feel as a result!
Flow expert and author, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, shares that “If you are interested in something, you will focus on it, and if you focus attention on anything, it is likely that you will become interested in it. Many of the things we find interesting are not so by nature, but because we took the trouble of paying attention to them.”
Your interest feeds your connection which fuels more curiosity and interest. And the cycle of connection continues!
The Power of Connection
In moments where everything is working, we rarely stop to consider the power of connection and what it allows us to access. You may take being in a state of flow for granted and associate it with how every day should feel. Then life happens where you get unplugged or forget to recharge, and you must respond, recalibrate, and plug back in.
Every day, you’re presented with powerful moments to connect, disconnect, or reconnect.
You connect with the things that matter to you most.
You disconnect with the things that drain or discourage you.
You reconnect with people or things you’ve fallen away from and need to reclaim.
When you have the right connections, your life feels more fulfilling.
When you’re connected to community, you have meaningful relationships. This is the antidote to loneliness.
When you’re connected to meaningful work, you are investing your talents in areas of passion. This is the antidote to boredom.
When you’re connected to yourself, you understand who you are and how you want to live. This is the antidote to apathy.
True connection creates more possibilities and makes us show up more authentically in our lives.
Plug Back In
Use these reflection questions to go even deeper as you explore the power of connection.
What do you regularly plug into? Consider what you’re giving your time and attention to most now and the impact this is making on your life.
What or who are you most connected to now?
What drains you that you need to disconnect from?
What areas or relationships do you need to reconnect with?
What helps you recharge?
What else would help you feel more connected to yourself and your community now?