I was in Munich a few weeks ago to attend a running event. The event was not just a run: many obstacles, of different types, were placed along the path and participants had to surpass them. I loved the spirit of the day which was, at least to me and by the suggestions of the organizers, a non-competitive one. I still think competition is important in some contexts but this event aimed at making participants reach the end line as a "team". For some obstacles it was nice to see how people from different groups would help each other out; the only way to get past such obstacles.
After the run, during a conversation with a friend the topic of "flow" briefly came up and I was surprised to see that he was not familiar with the concept. To me, flow is pretty much everywhere I go and I try always my best to achieve it. This period of my life has been pretty rough, given the pandemic and all, and it hindered my ability to reach a state of flow. I am sure, however, that this mindset will come back soon. Anyway, when I asked my friend whether he ever experienced a state of flow he was not sure about it.
Most certainly, "flow" has different meanings to different people. The first time I experienced such a state, and I was aware of it, was during swimming. I would usually go swimming two or three times a week and most of the time, after about half an hour, I was entering this state where body and mind were perfectly synchronized. I could feel the motion of my body through the water, the breathing synchronized with the movement, and my mind in a peaceful and blissful state. In this state, I was completely aware of what was going on around me but somehow my mind was locked in the present and not distracted by any big or small thought that would come up. I am sure others experience such a state in different situations - meditation comes to mind - but to me, a state of flow always involves some kind of dynamism and motion.
In my professional experience, I also found several references to the importance of flow. The Kanban methodology for managing work, as one example, seems to be a way of improving flow in a system. When thinking in terms of systems, as another example, I was fascinated when I found out how Little's Law can help model a flow-related concept that, at least to me, seemed pretty counterintuitive in the first place.
If there is one thing I learned about reaching a state of flow is that it is damn hard to get to that point. It takes a big personal effort to get there and, even more so, to maintain it. On the other hand, I can see the benefits of such a state. Considering how difficult it is to reach such a state individually, it is not hard for me to see why reaching a state of flow in more complex systems is close to impossible. I also start perhaps to grasp why, in complex systems, any kind of modeling, if necessary, can only follow, and not anticipate, a more effective strategy based on defining values and principles first.
Picture created by the author using GenAI