2 Initiating Flow (or Not)
“Creative suspension is very different from ‘doing nothing.’ It is an active form of watchfulness and assessment in order to take the most effective action as quickly as possible.”
—F. David Peat
People often ask me, “How can I trigger flow?” While the answer is unique to each person, there are specific conditions that must be in place for flow to occur. In addition, my flow triggers are different from yours. In first-responder world, there were very specific triggers of flow. While you can prepare yourself thoroughly through training and experience and put yourself in situations where flow might occur, there are also techniques you can use to consciously initiate flow. We will discuss these steps later in this chapter.
In addition, there are times when flow just doesn’t happen, even when all the elements of the situation seem to be in alignment. So much about experiencing flow is allowing...