In Search of Ecstasy

Last night I watched Chariots of Fire again. It’s the story of the team of British runners who swept the 1924 Olympics, and centers on two men, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. While both win gold medals, the camera focuses twice on Harold Abrahams watching Eric Liddell run. Though Abrahams runs with immense determination, he is clearly in awe of the apparent ecstasy on Liddell’s face as he runs. Nothing can match the energy.

Whether we call this energy flow, purpose, or natural born talent, there is nothing like the feeling of dipping into it. For some, the state comes around a specific endeavor…Yoyo Ma playing Bach’s Cello Suite #1, Pavarotti singing just about anything, John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath, or maybe the synergy of business and political leaders like Steve Jobs or Churchill. For most of us, it comes around certain life events; graduation, first love, promotion, childbirth. Or, it comes from that elusive feeling of “balance,” the sense that all the elements of one’s life are in a good place. Meaningful work and relationships, healthy self-care, and plenty of fun and recreation.

What I often see in my work is that there is one more place to look for the feeling of flow. Beyond specific life events, and a part of the feeling of balance, is to be doing work that we feel is meaningful. Judged by no one else but us. It can be hard to see it. External voices come from parents, teachers, bosses, the media. Internal voices come, often, from the acceptance of those outside voices, “If I want to do it, someone else will be out there doing it better,” “If I enjoy it, it’s not work,” “Of course it’s fun, it’s vacation!” Whatever we tell ourselves, we cut ourselves off from the replenishing energy of being in flow. Or, we throw away the baby with the bathwater, saying that there is nothing to be learned by what we choose to do on vacation, or the ways in which we enjoy ourselves.

How about a resolution with a soft landing for 2013. Think of two or three things you do that don’t feel like work. Yes, a night out with friends, singing and dancing, sports, and taking all day to cook a meal are included. Give yourself permission to be in that place as much as you can. Notice how you feel afterwards. What are the elements that are present when it doesn’t feel like work? Could you do your job in a way that aligns more with what you enjoy? Could you finally find the momentum to make a change?

Have a gentle beginning to the year, and I will see you in February,

Claire