What else brings 'flow' or joy besides cars?
Discussion
I’d have to agree with thetoxicnerve. Though I only ride on track these days.
There is no better feeling than nailing a corner/sector/section of a circuit. On the very odd occasion you can find some space on track and not get distracted by anyone else and string together a few laps thinking of nothing other than braking markers/apex’s/exit markers. It’s something that’s so intense and demanding, concentration levels are so high that when the chequered flag comes out it feels as though you’ve only just left pit lane. That’s when you realise how demanding it is as you suddenly realise how hard you’ve been working as you’re wringing with sweat get off the bike and you’re knackered.
On a similar note, I get the same feeling while prepping the bike for its next spanking. These bikes are tortured so I try to make sure nothing is left to chance. I’ve gone in my garage at 3pm to check it over/change tyres etc and finally get it finished thinking “that’s a couple of hours well spent” only to realise it’s 2am and I haven’t had any dinner.
There is no better feeling than nailing a corner/sector/section of a circuit. On the very odd occasion you can find some space on track and not get distracted by anyone else and string together a few laps thinking of nothing other than braking markers/apex’s/exit markers. It’s something that’s so intense and demanding, concentration levels are so high that when the chequered flag comes out it feels as though you’ve only just left pit lane. That’s when you realise how demanding it is as you suddenly realise how hard you’ve been working as you’re wringing with sweat get off the bike and you’re knackered.
On a similar note, I get the same feeling while prepping the bike for its next spanking. These bikes are tortured so I try to make sure nothing is left to chance. I’ve gone in my garage at 3pm to check it over/change tyres etc and finally get it finished thinking “that’s a couple of hours well spent” only to realise it’s 2am and I haven’t had any dinner.
Cant believe no one has said w
king yet 
For me its driving. Going out for a hoon on a road I know well and everything clicks into place. I judge grip and pace perfectly, perfect line, heel and toe down shifts on point, gear changes are perfection. All my troubles and worries just melt away in the most amazing way. Unfortunately some days it's like I'm wearing boxing gloves and blindfolded
king yet For me its driving. Going out for a hoon on a road I know well and everything clicks into place. I judge grip and pace perfectly, perfect line, heel and toe down shifts on point, gear changes are perfection. All my troubles and worries just melt away in the most amazing way. Unfortunately some days it's like I'm wearing boxing gloves and blindfolded
FreeLitres said:
For me, it has to be dominating the stairs at my management consultancy firm.
I love the sensation when the junior/beta male concedes the dominant position and melts away to the sidelines of insignificance like a spent force as I stroll on through. Some days I can lose hours charging up and down the stairs while the bodies of the fallen tumble onto pile of unfortunate subordinates on the ground floor. I love my job.
I love the sensation when the junior/beta male concedes the dominant position and melts away to the sidelines of insignificance like a spent force as I stroll on through. Some days I can lose hours charging up and down the stairs while the bodies of the fallen tumble onto pile of unfortunate subordinates on the ground floor. I love my job.
My main one is going to the workshop and restoring, mending or creating stuff. Time just goes, along with stress and worry, especially at the moment.
DJing too.
I used to do karting and most of the time i was just OK. But sometimes you would get into it in a way that was different and it just came together. I guess this is what the pro's do when they just elevate the speed to the next level.
All 3 allow me to forget life generally. Nothing else does.
DJing too.
I used to do karting and most of the time i was just OK. But sometimes you would get into it in a way that was different and it just came together. I guess this is what the pro's do when they just elevate the speed to the next level.
All 3 allow me to forget life generally. Nothing else does.
Some have already been said - sailing, skiing, motorcycling. When they click and you almost feel like you don’t have to think about it. I also had one drive on my Police advanced car course where everything came together, on a fairly nadgery road in the Lake District. Average speed was probably sub 50mph, but it all came together on that drive for me. I’d done the A6 over Shap summit, well north of 3 figures, earlier that day, but it was the second drive which was much smoother and all the bits just slotted together neatly.
I’ll throw in a couple more - target rifle shooting, when you get your breathing right and you get into the rhythm of loading, sighting, firing, unloading, reloading... woodworking is another one. When the plane/saw/chisel is running smoothly and you end up with something that you’ve made with your own hands. Even the boring bits like sanding/staining can do it.
I’ll throw in a couple more - target rifle shooting, when you get your breathing right and you get into the rhythm of loading, sighting, firing, unloading, reloading... woodworking is another one. When the plane/saw/chisel is running smoothly and you end up with something that you’ve made with your own hands. Even the boring bits like sanding/staining can do it.
BRR said:
ben5575 said:
That's three of us on this thread so far that do both sparring and Dj'ing. A seemingly strange combination but there's a theme emerging...
Yeah I have no idea what the link is, both have probably had an equally detrimental effect on my health Music practice, in particular practicing a looping passage of a complex piece that you have nearly down, and hearing it smooth out.
As others have said, biking, in particular the apex of a jump, or feeling of exiting a corner or berm, mind totally blank, barely any input, and the whole thing feeling like it's on rails.
Something oddly calming about writing simple sql queries whilst touch typing and seeing the data roll.
I used to feel the flow in chess but I think my brain is too old now and it just hurts.
El stovey said:
Europa1 said:
Rowing in a crew when it all just clicks, from a pair up to an VIII.
It's brilliant, it's powerful, it's visually stunning, you're asking questions of your body and getting the right answers, and if you're on an empty stretch of river and the conditions are calm, so much the better. It really is a mental tonic, that feeling of being part of a well drilled unit. Of course, like most sports, when you're having a 'mare, it sucks and you get angry. But I nominate the good times when rowing; it can be quite intoxicating.
I loved the Rio 2016 Men's VIIIs final - they steamed out of the blocks and you just knew no-one was going to get past them (particularly with Andy Triggs-Hodge in what's known as the ejector seat):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4UXGhI0Jp4
I haven’t rowed for years but your post brings me right back.It's brilliant, it's powerful, it's visually stunning, you're asking questions of your body and getting the right answers, and if you're on an empty stretch of river and the conditions are calm, so much the better. It really is a mental tonic, that feeling of being part of a well drilled unit. Of course, like most sports, when you're having a 'mare, it sucks and you get angry. But I nominate the good times when rowing; it can be quite intoxicating.
I loved the Rio 2016 Men's VIIIs final - they steamed out of the blocks and you just knew no-one was going to get past them (particularly with Andy Triggs-Hodge in what's known as the ejector seat):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4UXGhI0Jp4
Edited by Europa1 on Tuesday 14th July 22:11
The sound of the blades turning and the movement of the boat with everyone in sync, so awesome.
Especially the ones where I was at stroke - you can't help but think "I'm leading this".
El stovey said:
Flow is not just enjoying something, it’s actually a different state of mind or positive hyper focus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)
I get it swimming open water sometimes, but not in a pool where I’m having to turn every few minutes. I also get it running on occasion. In both activities sometimes I feel like I could run or swim for hours and it feels almost effortless and I even forget completely how long I’ve been running or swimming for. It’s weird but awesome when it happens. It’s hard to describe but it feels amazing and I’m totally connected to what I’m doing and like I’m running or swimming completely efficiently.
I've loved reading examples of it. I didn't want to get too academic about it - I read the book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - because it might shut down people's creativity to think of it as a 'thing' apart. It's common. I do wonder if folks who like driving, rallying, ski-ing MBX etc have got this 'flow' thing sorted. You can't not concentrate when at high speed for example! But also I wonder if restoring a car would be great for flow too? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)
I get it swimming open water sometimes, but not in a pool where I’m having to turn every few minutes. I also get it running on occasion. In both activities sometimes I feel like I could run or swim for hours and it feels almost effortless and I even forget completely how long I’ve been running or swimming for. It’s weird but awesome when it happens. It’s hard to describe but it feels amazing and I’m totally connected to what I’m doing and like I’m running or swimming completely efficiently.
Fishing. Used to fish when I was younger and didn’t really have a clue. Got back into about a year ago and educated myself using the internet.
Caught a specimen fish in the last year that people spend a lifetime trying to catch, feel extremely lucky to have managed it in my first proper year at it.
Caught a specimen fish in the last year that people spend a lifetime trying to catch, feel extremely lucky to have managed it in my first proper year at it.
Video - shooting and editing. Done this for a while not really knowing what I was doing but got properly stuck in at the beginning of lockdown, partly for professional development reasons but mainly because I find it utterly absorbing.
Currently cutting my first 'visual' documentary about a local canal that no-one else will ever find the slightest bit interesting but I'm loving the process. I'm only here while I'm waiting for Final Cut Pro to render something!
Currently cutting my first 'visual' documentary about a local canal that no-one else will ever find the slightest bit interesting but I'm loving the process. I'm only here while I'm waiting for Final Cut Pro to render something!
Jaguar steve said:
Mr Dendrite said:
Time for everyone to go and read Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance
An absolute classic. Everybody should read it over and over again 'till they understand it. 
"...Inner peace of mind. It has no direct relationship to external circumstances. It can occur to a monk in meditation, to a soldier in heavy combat or to a machinist taking off that last ten-thousandth of an inch. It involves unselfconsciousness, which produces a complete identification with one's circumstances, and there are levels and levels of this identification and levels and levels of quietness quite as profound and difficult of attainment as the more familiar levels of activity..."
I think it’s been said already but Mountain Biking gives me ‘the flow’. Sorry to say but cars don’t come close for me, nor did my Sportsbike.
There’s an element of meditation, you can’t ride a MTB remotely quickly unless it’s got your full attention, you can’t ride a bike and worry ‘stuff’ and went it ‘clicks’ everything just feels effortless and you cover ground that you couldn’t walk over if you tried.
There’s an element of meditation, you can’t ride a MTB remotely quickly unless it’s got your full attention, you can’t ride a bike and worry ‘stuff’ and went it ‘clicks’ everything just feels effortless and you cover ground that you couldn’t walk over if you tried.
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