Wow, here we are at the end of March. The change of season is a natural time to check in. As you complete the first quarter of the year, are you finding your stride, starting to thrive, even "Riding the Glide �"?
Or Not?
To "glide" is to move smoothly and continuously along, as if without effort or resistance; synonymous to flow. As you consider the opportunities and challenges ahead are you relaxed or anxious? Bored or excited? Worried or feeling in control?
I believe as long as we are willing to move from apathy to action we have the opportunity to find our "glide". When skills are allowed to come to an activity without fear then there is opportunity for "glide". I believe we all may experience "glide" and find times of peak performance in our life when we choose to move forward with confidence and joy.
How do we find that sense of ease and belonging in our work, our relationships, our play?
I have been exploring this idea for a long time and have come to find what is true for me. My exploration has introduced me to some wonderful scholars and pioneers like Stuart Brown (in the field of Play) and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (in the field of human happiness, creativity, joy and the notion of flow). When I listen to them speak and read their work I feel connected to a larger True. I have worked with passionate leaders focused on a cause. I am also an athlete and over the years I have found many examples and analogies of how flow, and how being in the moment, may joyfully lead to peak performance; watching Michael Jordon play during his hay day in Chicago, following greats like Tom Watson or Tiger Woods on the golf course, working out with Olympic diver Greg Louganis, and today skiing with some of the best alpine enthusiast in the US in the mountains of VT.
Billie Jean King (one of my heroes as a kid) said "Pressure is a privilege" and "To play sport at the highest level you have to bring Mind, Body and Soul." As a student athlete my coaches were able to teach me how to prepare for the pressure and how to bring mind and body into my performance. But, it was up to me to bring my soul. How did I know when I had engaged my soul? I think this is what the feeling of joy signals. I have always believed that the path to peak performance is through the love of the game, no matter the challenge or difficulty or pressure of the contest. At the moment of performance, play your game and let the joy and happy happen. Trust it, feel it, use it.
"You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears. You forget yourself. You feel part of something larger." Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - on experiencing 'flow' (a state of heightened focus and immersion in the activities such as art, play and work). As a successful person I bet you have experienced flow.
However, our flow, our glide, our joy, our stride can be interrupted. Blocks to our best performance, our best life, may come from external factors or come from our own energy, beliefs, interpretation, assumptions and/or attitudes. Well, we have removed blocks before and we can do it again. Success comes, innovation and creativity flourish, champions are named, when each of us chooses to remove resistance to our flow.
Today, as a coach my intention is to encourage the playful engagement of your most authentic self and raise your energy for promote peak performance and self-care. Together we can build on your own capacity to achieve success, set goals in the area of skills development and confidence building, find and remove the barriers that are creating resistance.
If you are ready to get back in the game, take your game to the next level and in the process feel more at ease, then it is time get in action. It is time to remove the fear and let your talent shine. Find the feeling of "flow" in your life and learn to "Ride the Glide �"
"Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game". Michael Jordan