Years ago, I was a rock climber. I loved the sport because of the feeling of focus and flow it gave me. I was happy pushing myself to do what I though was physically too hard and forcing myself to face a fear of heights, which turns out not to be as uncommon among climbers as I had assumed. I developed a group of relationships built on trust, caring, and always working to better understanding and help each other do more. Focus, pushing beyond what seems physically or mentally possible, facing fears, and developing “real” relationships are always the ingredients to change individual habits and organization and team cultures that drive effective leadership, happy careers, and group and organizational belonging and equity for all. We all need a source of focus. What’s yours?
The feeling of climbing on rock or climbing up always put me into a laser-like focus on the moment, what was right in front of me, and what I was doing. It amazed me because in everything else I have ever done, I’m extremely prone to distraction. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called this “flow” where time seems to disappear. It’s an amazing feeling. It comes from concentration and deep absorption with whatever you are doing at the moment. This intrinsic motivation to try harder and do more, because trying harder and doing more just feels good, is difficult to find unless what you are doing is connected to your passion, who you are at the core, what matters to you most, or what you enjoy as an end it itself.
Rock climbing was physically painful and mentally challenging. However, the feeling of accomplishment as every step up got me closer to the top with a group of partners right there with me, absorbed the momentary pain and discomfort. I was aware of it, but it did not stop me from moving up.
Find your sense of accomplishment. Know what makes you tick. Develop your support network. Take the time to figure out what really matters to you. It will be easier to discover your focus and flow and then you can take on the big challenges.
