Move with the flow of life

Monday morning, it’s the start of a new week. You have planned everything in advance and you start the week full of confidence. Let’s do this! When you are working, suddenly you receive a call. Your best friend just broke up with her boyfriend. She is in tears and doesn’t know what to do. After that, you see your mailbox and some of your meetings for this week got cancelled. And you were planning to go for a walk during lunch, but it rains, not a bit, but a lot. There goes your fresh start of the week. 

This is what happens to us often. You made the best plans with good intentions, but suddenly life kicks in. Things are not going as planned and unexpected things happen. Take a deep breath and go with the flow. 

But what does that mean? Flow is like a mindset. Life is constantly changing and that is something we need to accept. As humans we like to have control over the things we do, but there are many things we can’t control. So ‘go with the flow’ is about letting everything happen with acceptance and awareness. 

Of course you can make plans, goals and have intentions. If you want to make things happen, you also need to make plans. Sometimes things will go as planned. But also be aware of the things that can happen, that you didn’t plan. It’s best if you plan things not too tight, so you have some space for things that will go differently. 

Hereby some tips to move more with the flow of life:

• Be aware and accept. We are constantly changing and life as well. Accept that flow is part of life. 
• Stay present. Keep your attention in the moment. With the tasks that you are doing or giving your full attention when you are with your family. Live in the moment. 
• Do not resist, but accept. When something unexpected happens, sometimes we wish that it never happened. We can fight against it, but will it help you? For example, nobody wants to get sick. But when it happens, the only thing you can do is surrender and take care of yourself. So hopefully you get better soon. If you fight against it, it will only take longer. 
• Connect body and mind. Everything is connected. As humans we have the habit to stay too long in our minds and lose the connection with our body. To move with the flow of life, we need to connect with our body. Yoga, mindfulness and breathing exercises can help you with this. 
• Create space. Make plans so you can achieve tasks and goals. But also plan some free time, so you can use this when things cost you more time or when something unexpected happens. 
• Let go. You can’t control everything in life. There is a time to be active and there is also a time for being or being inactive. Like your smartphone, you also need time to recharge. Don’t hold on things too long, but let them go.