Transition. Change. It’s beautiful. When all is in flux, my mind becomes unquiet, and my attention is pulled in thousands of directions. I like the chaos. I welcome the challenge.
What challenge, you ask? The challenge to rebalance both mind and body during a major transition. It is only when I achieve this balance that I obtain the energy needed to focus and thrive on the next endeavor.
The flow state is such a precious state. The flow state is when I am most in harmony—in my element. I can only enter this precious state when I focus on optimizing the basics in my life.
When I desire to enter flow immediately, I take the necessary steps to make it happen.
Optimizing Mind and Body – My Five Techniques to Induce Flow
1) Clean Diet – I, personally, focus on manipulating macronutrients to optimize 1) My performance in the gym and 2) My hormones. Plenty more on this in later posts.
2) Consistent Gym Routine – The absolute, most beneficial and constructive way to relieve stress and mental despair. I go to the gym in the morning—before work—as part of my daily routine. Plenty more on this in forthcoming posts.
3) Clean Condo – A cluttered living space precludes a clear mind. Every day I challenge myself and strive for minimalist living. In other words, I aim to live as happy as possible with as little as possible.
4) Streamlined Spending Habits – I focus my spending on the essentials: shelter, food, and gym membership. In an effort to enter the flow state, spending money on anything else is superfluous. I currently save and invest 50% of my after-tax income. My goal, when I transition to my new job, is to save and invest 60% of my after-tax income. When money is not a worry, we can live with a clear mind.
5) No TV, Radio, or Social Media – The negativity of the world incites feelings of despair. Advertisements encourage feelings of scarcity. Both derail the road to flow.
I put in my two weeks’ notice on Thursday, September 1, 2016. The entire summer was a mad scramble to interview for the next job—the perfect fit, the right salary; sell my car; obtain my professional license from the state; renew my expired passport—all while balancing time with my current job, family, and friends. When everything is in flux, everything seems unsettling.
But you have the power to get back in harmony. Focus on the basics, and utilize the snowball effect for the better. During the summer of 2016, I knew I wanted out of my current job. I knew I needed to get rid of my car. I knew I wanted simplicity in my life.
So I made it happen.
Beginning in June, I listed everything in my to-dos and set out to check off one right after the other. Update my resume. Check. Sell my car. Check. Fill out and mail professional license application. Check. Get my passport picture taken and mail in the passport renewal application. Check. Obtain a new job. Check.
Setting out to accomplish all these milestones caused chaos, and I momentarily lost focus from my basic routines—the routines that kept me centered; the routines that contributed to my steady progression—mentally, physically, financially—in my young life. But achieving the milestones was necessary for both my sanity and my long-term happiness. Amid the chaos, I was able to maintain only one of my basic routines—going to the gym.
Here we are, in September. With every milestone accomplished during the summer, only now have I begun to hit my stride in simplifying my life—getting rid of the noise, the distraction.
I cherish the transition back to simplicity.
When all is in flux, and you feel yourself drifting from being on point and hitting on all cylinders, always go back to the basics. Enter flow.
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