26 Jan A State of Flow
Achieving your goals doesn’t have to be all ‘hard work’ and ‘grind’. In fact, if it feels that way, the chances are, you’re going to give up on it before you make much progress.
Instead, we’re going to focus on how you can turn the goal-achievement activity, (like memorising the Quran, going to the gym, writing etc.) into a seemingly ‘effortless’ and fun endeavour.
How do you do that?
The key is: FLOW.
Let’s take memorising the Quran as an example – it’s something I’ve been working on lately. This might not be relevant for you just yet, or it might be exactly what you need. But, rest-assured, this approach will work for any goal.
The key question you want to ask is:
How can I get into a state of FLOW when I memorise? How can I make my daily Quran study addictive? How can I make it more fun than playing a video game?
That may seem impossible, but it really isn’t. You just need a method that “flows” for you.
What specifically do I mean by ‘flow’?
Think about it like a video game, like Candy Crush. If the level is too hard, you’ll quickly get bored and quit. If the game is too easy, you win too often and get bored and quit. What you want, for the game to be ‘addictive’ is the “flow zone” in the middle. Gamers know what I’m talking about. That’s why someone out there reading this is past level 150 on Candy Crush.
Finding Flow In Goal-Achievement
Okay, so back to our Quran memorisation. What you’re looking for is the flow zone…
-> Not Too Hard…
If the method you’re using to memorise feels too hard, chances are, you’ll get bored and quit. For example, if you struggle to read Arabic and you decide you’re going to learn a page today, in one sitting… you’ll probably get bored and quit because the task was too big and hard.
-> Not Too Easy…
And, if the method you’re using feels too easy… you’ll probably still get bored and quit. For example, if you’re very fluent in Arabic and decide you’re going to learn only 2 words at a time, and repeat them 1,000 times, you may well lose interest in memorising (although, as a form of zikr, it may still bring meditative benefits).
What you really want to find is that ‘flow’ zone, where the task is set at the level that keeps your interest, but isn’t so hard you’ll quit.
How To Get Addicted To Quran Memorization…
There are many, many ways this can happen. And, there are 3 forms of Quran memorization: learning new lines, reviewing recent lines and revision of older material. And each one has a different flow activity.
For right now, let’s look at the first one, and see if this gets you into the ‘flow’ zone, where you really, really enjoy the time you spend with the Quran.
The Quran-Flow Exercise:
If you can read the Arabic script, try choosing 1-4 lines of the Quran, (depending on how advanced you are in your fluency of reading, and how much practice you’ve had at memorising). When you’ve chosen the lines, repeat them from beginning to end in Arabic. One hundred times. Use a tasbih (prayer beads) to keep count.
Start by looking at the text, and when you feel like you don’t need to look any more, don’t look. But, don’t make your objective to look, or not look. Rather, make your objective to recite the lines correctly 100 times. Because you’re going for 100 repetitions, you’ll probably go as quickly as you comfortably can.
For me this works a treat to get me in the ‘flow’ zone, where it’s easy enough that I can focus and be mentally stimulated, but not so hard that I’m tempted to give up. I also find that it becomes quite meditative. And, if remembering the lines without looking becomes tiresome – I read them. After a couple of readings, it usually becomes quicker and easier to go back to reciting the lines without looking.
Cool, right?
The same is true for any sport, going to the gym, to learning a new language, to getting into the best shape of their lives, and much, much more. Find the right level of difficulty that makes you enjoy it every bit.
Peace, Love & Blessings.
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