I love trying out new sports. The whole process of learning new movements, figuring out how something works, then playing and improving, is something I thrive on (fun fact: I danced classical ballet for 10 years until I was 17. Ballet is amazing training for body awareness and for learning how to watch and copy movements).
But believe me, it’s not always smooth sailing. When I repeatedly fall or am not able to do something, I sometimes get frustrated. Why? Usually it’s when I’m thinking something along the lines of “I should be able to do this by now!”. That is an expectation I have of myself, created by my dear old ego. What I’m doing here is focusing on a fixed outcome or result. In contrast, when I’m adopting a flow mindset, I focus on learning and growing. In the flow mindset, there are no mistakes, only feedback. I’ve found this mindset to be incredibly powerful for busting through feelings of frustration and demotivation and generally having a much better experience.
I used the flow mindset in this video while learning to wake surf this summer for the first time, on beautiful Lake Powell in Utah/Arizona:
So, remember to “let it flow” next time you learn something new and you will learn much faster and have more fun too!
