Finding creativity in our work is closely connected to the concept of ‘flow’.

Don’t be put off by the clichés about creativity. How many times have you been in a brainstorm meeting and been told to “Think outside the box”, or “Push the envelop”?

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s famous investigations of “optimal experience” have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow.

Flow is the state of existence when a person performing an activity is totally immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does.

We hope to find this in all aspects of our lives, especially in our work. “Flow happens when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable, so it acts as a magnet for learning new skills and increasing challenges. If challenges are too low, one gets back to flow by increasing them. If challenges are too great, one can return to the flow state by learning new skills.”

  Quote from a review of Finding Flow in Psychology Today, last reviewed June 14, 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199707/ finding-flow


Finding flow at work can be enhanced

“First, establish priorities among the demands that crowd into consciousness. Successful people often make lists or flowcharts of all the things they have to do, and quickly decide which tasks they can delegate or forget, and which ones they have to tackle personally, and in what order. The next step is to match one’s skills with whatever challenges have been identified. There will be tasks we feel incompetent to deal with. Can you learn the skills required in time? Can you get help? Can the task be transformed or broken into simpler parts? Usually the answer to one of these questions will provide a solution that transforms a potentially stressful situation into a flow experience.”

Quote from a review of Finding Flow in Psychology Today, last reviewed June 14, 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199707/ finding-flow

How does it feel to be in flow?

Author Csikszentmihalyi says we know we are in the ‘flow when:

·      We are completely involved in what we are doing — focused and concentrated

·      We have a sense of ecstasy and of being outside everyday reality

·      We experience great inner clarity and we know what needs to be done and how well we are doing

·      We know that the activity is doable and that our skills are adequate to the task

·      We have a sense of serenity with no worries about ourselves and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego

·      We experience timelessness and are thoroughly focused on the present, the hours seem to pass by in minutes

·      Intrinsic motivation means that whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.

Find Out More About Flow

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has delivered some great TED talks

To review ‘Flow, the secret to happiness’  go to www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow

“What we know matters, but who we are matters more. Being rather than knowing requires showing up and letting ourselves be seen. It requires us to dare greatly, to be vulnerable. The first step of that journey is understanding where we are, what we’re up against and where we need to go. I think we can best do that by examining our pervasive “Never enough” culture.”[1]

So begins the excellent and heart felt book from research undertaken by Brene Brown, a research professor who has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. She spent the first five years of her decade-long study focusing on shame and empathy, and is now using that work to explore a concept that she calls Wholeheartedness.

She poses the questions:

How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness? How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to recognize that we are enough – that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy?

So what has this got to do with career transitions?

In studying, researching and talking to participants about career transition, the key issue /emotion and block that always comes up is fear. It manifests itself in comments such as

• What will people think?
• I feel powerless to move on
• I need certainty before I can transition
• I have a lifestyle to maintain

So in understanding vulnerability we are able to understand further what is worth doing even if we fail. The Career Redesign approach has at its heart a step wise approach to assist participants to recognise transition is part of our psychology, and that self reflection can churn and bring to the surface emotions and thoughts that could be hard to hear. We must take care that how we rationalize inhibitors are not just a safety net to stop us from taking risks.

In the end if we are worth the effort of creating disruption in our lives as a means  to get through the other side to a career that does touch our sweet spot. This will mean we not only need to be vulnerable but will need to jump in head first and embrace vulnerability.

Further in exploring the myths we tell ourselves regarding vulnerability, this feeds the fears that will allow uncertainty to prevail, limiting our career transition decisions.

In response to the myth that vulnerability reflects weakness, Brown responds with ‘Vulnerability is neither good nor bad’. [2]  It’s the core of all emotions and to feel is to be vulnerable.  At its heart vulnerability is ‘uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure’.[3]

“Of most significance is that reality that if we close off our career options out of fear that the costs are too high then we walk away from the very things that may give us meaning and purpose. This is directly applicable to the way we approach the fear of change and transition.  And equally it asks us to consider facing another fear of asking for support. Connecting to tribes, communities and stepping out in an effort to network, is about embracing our fears of rejection and  failure. One of the best quotes from an interviewee is “when you shut down vulnerability , you shut out opportunity”. [4]


 


[1] Brene Brown Daring Greatly- How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent and lead.  2012 page 16

[2] Brene Brown Daring Greatly Page 33

[3] Brene Brown Daring Greatly page 34

[4]  Brene Brown Daring Greatly page 208

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow.

Flow 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. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does.

For a review of Mihaly's concept and book "Finding Flow" go to
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199707/finding-flow

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work
Ok - so you've worked out what you want to do and need to stay in your current role for a while longer...but you hate it. So how do you survive, be productive and a nice person to be around?

Shawn Achor is the author of The Happiness Advantage. He works at the intersection of  human potential, success and happiness. This TED talk describes how to increase happiness and meaning, raise success rates and profitability, and create positive transformations that ripple into more successful cultures.

http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

There are a number of diagnostic tools available to help you determine what your preferred learning styles could be. Learning style theories in adult careers form a part of a much bigger range of concepts and other content concerning personality and  self-development, so make use of these to help find a theme or trend that can assist you further. As with any diagnostic tool, the advice is to not solely rely on this to make a decision.

VARK is a guide to learning styles built around a short questionnaire developed by Neil Fleming.
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

More motivational resources just added to the Career Redesign Program website:

Inspiration at  http://www.careerredesign.com.au/need-motivation.html

Resources at  http://www.careerredesign.com.au/resources.html

Many of us think that if we just find that great job or win the next promotion, that happiness will follow. But what if this formula was backward...that happiness fuels career success. 

From the author of the Happiness Advantage, Shaun Achor gives us a 12 min TED talk that explains all. 
http://goodthinkinc.com/media/tedtalk/