Carter Jobe - Finding Flow In My Everyday Life

In reading Chapter 6 of American Camino: Walking as Spiritual Practice on the Appalachian Trail, the topic of flow stood out to me as highly relatable in my day-to-day life. Flow, originally coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a state that humans enter where consciousness is replaced by a sort of autonomy, where it feels as if the body is making decisions and acting on the accords of the subconscious. Time becomes distorted as we enter the flow state. At the same time, it is often reported that in this flow state we as people are able to act in an extremely efficient and effective manner that can be almost shocking to look back upon once we have left the flow state. 

There are many common instances of flow in our everyday lives. Everyone has experienced the eerie sensation of getting lost in thought while driving only to return to the real world and realize they haven’t paid attention to the road in five minutes, but they’ve been traveling it the entire time. This is very reminiscent of Jung’s idea of the subconscious mind, and flow can be seen as a gateway into the subconscious. While in the subconscious flow state, it can sometimes give oneself the polarizing sensation of extreme focus while also being completely distracted. It is almost as if flow is experiencing both our conscious and subconscious minds at once.

Redick reports that this flow state can be found in many ways, with an emphasis in this chapter on the flow state achievable from hiking or walking trails. As a somewhat avid hiker myself, I can highly relate to the feeling of hiking up a section and looking back and not being able to remember placing your last hundred or so footsteps. The feeling of flow on a trail can help a hiker overcome an obstacle, such as climbing between rocks to approach a summit or pacing downhill on a particularly steep slope.

Many parallels can be drawn between hiking a trail and Joseph Campbell’s idea of the Hero’s Journey. In a sense, every hiker is a hero and they must overcome obstacles and experience change to finish their journey. When the flow state is reached and the threshold is crossed, a walker will test their endurance and physical strength, which in combination with the sacredness of nature can provoke a change deep in the soul of the hero. The elixir they obtain is the satisfaction of completing their journey in addition to the wisdom they obtained from their hike. 

Many hikers of all different spiritualities and faiths, ranging from atheism to Christianity to agnostics, have reported that taking on the journey of the Appalachian Trail, they experienced profound spiritual effects that would change their senses of identity and their worldviews. This lends to the idea that there is nothing inherently sacred about the trail itself (at least in comparison to other trails or marvels of nature) or any connection it might have to a specific religion, rather that the journey of the Appalachian Trail is such a great one that it allows the hiker to experience the Hero’s Journey for themselves and reap the spiritual benefits of this transformation and opportunity to reflect on oneself through trials and challenges. 

While on a trail or journey, one of the most valuable pieces of personal change one can undergo is that of self-emptying. A common side effect of entering the flow state is that one will experience a sort of dissolution from their self-identity, as they connect to the greater subconscious. It is a mystical experience, and can even be humbling as a reminder of something greater than us. In doing so one will lose their burdens and ego, as the task at hand becomes seemingly all that matters. This is known as self-emptying, and it is a key aspect of what it means to develop spiritually through the flow state. 

Self-emptying can deepen one’s awareness and appreciation for the world around them. In hiking through nature, one can often be reminded of the vast span of the Earth, and that they are just one of trillions of living organisms in this realm. This loss of ego can make it easier to be open to change, something that is central to the idea of the Hero’s Journey and growing as a person.

Recently, over our snow break, I decided at the last minute to attend my family ski trip to the snowy peaks of Snowshoe West Virginia. It is important to understand that I had been snowboarding a couple of times as a child, but that I hadn’t attended a ski resort, especially not to the scale of Snowshoe, in many years. And on top of this, I had never skied in my life. The harsh conditions of raging snow, 50 miles per hour winds, and temperatures hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit in combination with my lack of ability to ski proved harsh at first. However, as someone with a very competitive nature, I felt highly motivated by the foreign challenges in front of me.

My first couple of attempts down the slopes were pathetic, to say the least, and I felt humbled, but not in a good way. However I did not let this feeling stop me, and eventually I experienced something I still cannot explain. Everything clicked and I entered a state of hyperfocus where everything seemed to come naturally to me. For an hour or so, the frigid temperatures became bearable, my anxieties became bearable, time slowed down, and I was in control. I whizzed past others and developed my skiing abilities in a way that I did not quite comprehend at the time. I believe that here I had entered the flow state, and it had granted me what I needed to overcome the challenges associated with this new experience. 

It was discussed in class that athletes can relate to the feeling of the flow state, a state in which the athlete can push themselves to the limit and play their very best subconsciously. Michael Jordan, often referred to as the single greatest basketball player of all time, was quoted as stating, “When you get into the zone, you feel like you’re in a rhythm and there’s nothing that can stop you. You don’t think about the crowd, the pressure, or the defense—you’re just in the moment, reacting, and everything feels effortless.” This perfectly describes the idea of flow; a feeling of total immersion, where self-consciousness fades, and peak performance happens almost without effort.

As someone who has played basketball throughout my life, I can attest to this feeling. Sometimes when I first step on the court, my body feels rigid, and no matter how much I focus on my shots they just don’t seem to fall. However, in the flow of a basketball game, my senses dial in, and the rest of the world around me fades away. I’ve had games where it feels as if I cannot miss, and more often than not when reminiscing on these incidents it can be challenging to grasp the memory of what it felt like in the moment. 

This flow experience in sports is closely linked to adrenaline and muscle memory which work to enhance performance in high-intensity situations. When these elements unite in the flow state, hikers and athletes alike experience an almost ethereal rhythm where actions come naturally. 

In experiencing flow; whether on a hiking trail, a basketball court, or the slopes of a ski resort, we develop a deeper connection with our spirituality and the world around us, allowing us to overcome our challenges and anxieties, grow as people, and perform at our very best.