Learning to Go With The Flow

One of the greatest skills in life is the much-admired ability to glide smoothly through life unaffected while the turbulence of these modern times seems to engulf others.

The key to this to flow with life's current rather than resisting it. Going against the tide of life creates stress, while flowing with it allows you to move forward and remain relaxed.

A key part of this means embracing change in our lives, which allows us to roll with life quite easily, as change is inevitable and the very nature of our everyday life.

So how do we 'go with the flow'? By finding the direction of life's rhythm, and going with it rather than against it. 

Here are a few examples of this:

If your plan for the day doesn't turn out as expected, try going with the new situation instead and create a new plan, rather than resisting change and fighting to keep the old plan alive, which usually only creates stress and no results.  

Yes, even just remaining in the slow lane for a while (in your car), and just following the traffic - rather than battling it and constantly changing lanes and getting flustered - is a good beginning to the philosophy of 'going with the flow'.

You may be surprised to find that you get ahead just as quickly as those who constantly change lanes!

Of course it's important to always have a plan - but be flexible and open to changing it depending upon the signals you are getting back. For instance, if a situation constantly brings difficulty, then it may be telling you that there is an easier way to reach the goal, which you may not have looked at yet.

Another way of flowing with life is not to sweat the small stuff - always let go of small issues and move on. This ability allows you the time, space and mental clarity to focus upon the bigger issues in life, and not get caught up in complications.

Controlling only the 'situations you have control over' is also a great stress-reducer - as most things we worry about simply are beyond our control, or things that never happen in the first place.

For instance, if your doctors appointment is running an hour late and you have to wait - instead of trying to change an unchangeable situation, go and have a coffee down the road and come back in an hour - who knows, you might have a wonderful brainstorming idea during that hour!

Last but not least, always allow yourself some time and breathing space - dont overbook yourself so much that you are always rushing - space things out a little and pace yourself.

Otherwise you find yourself feeling off-balance and flustered - take some time between your appointments and make sure you are feeling strong, calm, balanced, and focused upon quality, instead of quantity.

And never forget to schedule a little fun into your week! Nothing can replace a good laugh when it comes to stress relief - and there are scientific studies to prove it.

Going with the flow means taking care of your own life-balance, which creates less stress and also better results - so try a little of this in the week ahead, and see if you notice the difference.

Create Moments of Tranquility

Throughout the constant busy-ness of daily life, everyone needs a few moments to themselves, as a kind of mental 'oasis' - to re-balance, re-energize, and regain clarity.

Life can be so busy and stressful at times that often we have no time for relaxation and creative thought.

We find ourselves simply getting daily jobs done at work and home, without giving time to empower ourselves and our lives for the future.

This lifestyle can cloud our thoughts and mental clarity - so it is important to take some time out regularly, even if it is just for 5 minutes, to do nothing and recharge ourselves.

This means allowing ourselves some time to just 'be' instead of constantly 'doing' all the time - with a short interval where your mind can rest and creatively wander around the things that we really want in our lives.

Short periods of relaxation make it easier to arrange within our day - whether it be during lunch time, the end of the day, whenever - as no-one seems to have an hour to meditate these days!

Some people recharge themselves using meditation, yoga or other lifestyle-enhancers - and the fact is that it really doesn't matter how you do it, the most important thing is to find time to fit it into your life.

All of our greatest achievers are also our greatest 'dreamers' - this means they can imagine what they want in their minds before they go out and achieve it, and it is important for us not to lose this great ability.

In fact, it is these moments of rest where most of our fabulous ideas come from.

Lionel Ritchie thought of most of his No. 1 songs when in the shower.  Many amazing ideas come from relaxing and taking some time out, whether it be meditation, a bath, a coffee, whatever.

It is the times of rest when our mind is at its most creative and fertile, and these times must be nurtured and allowed-time-for each day.

Needless to say, relaxation has been shown to have countless positive effects upon our health as well, including reducing stress (and it's associated illnesses), blood pressure, boosting the functioning of the immune system, etc.

Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve - so ensure that your mind is working at full efficiency by giving it some time out each day. Your mind and body will thank you for the rest of your life.

The best of success, Craig Townsend

Article © Craig Townsend MindTraining.net

"Your mind can just as easily show you an ocean of abundant opportunities, as it can the opposite. Its just depends what you focus upon". Craig Townsend