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Get Lost
With work, we seek shortcuts. With art, we go deeper.
When I was about fourteen years of age, I made gaming videos for Youtube.
I had to buy a cube-shaped device that recorded my TV screen so that I could record my gameplay. It wasnāt cheap, believe me.
Over time, I learnt how to edit the videos, too. Everything I needed, I found on Youtube and within myselfāāāfree education and a desire to learn.
As I watched tutorials, practised the craft and repeated the cycle, I became aware of something.
I was getting lost in my time; hours would pass without me noticing.
Iād scramble to squeeze in as much as I could before bed and yell ājust a minuteā each time my mum would call me down for dinner, just to scoff down the meal and run back upstairs.
With the knowledge I have today, I think this is what psychologists would call āflowā, a temporally warped mental state that includes complete immersion in a rewarding, enjoyable experience.
Flow
This state of āflowā fascinates me.
What exactly is it? How do we get it? Can we practice it? Seek it? Nurture it?
Most importantly, is āflowā a natural indicator of what we should be pursuing in life?
The last few years, I couldnāt help but think it meant something.
I wasnāt sure exactly how it mattered or what should be done about it, but I was conscious that at the very least, it had to be a lesson of life that needed to be understood.
I know I talk a lot about finding direction in life, an amount most people would probably consider excessive.
But, if it took me 25 years to gain an ounce of clarity on it, perhaps the exercise shouldnāt be underestimated.
If, as youāre reading this, you too find yourself thinking about a state of āflowā you once experienced, perhaps itās a question youāve left unanswered:
Are you doing the āworkā youāre meant to be doing?
Do What Matters
To make a big problem smaller, here are a few starter questions to get you thinking:
What feels like āworkā to others but feels like āplayā to you?
What gets you in a state of āflowā? *Distinguish from āhyperfocusāāāāa state of ācaptureā that doesnāt necessarily help you achieve somethingāāāthink gambling or video games.*
Finally, one thought that Iāve been pondering for months (sourceāāāunknown):
With work, you find shortcuts. With art, you go deeper.
Some doctors, for example, see their roles simply as āworkā, finding shortcuts to help them become more efficient at their jobs.
Others might view medicine as an art, endlessly immersing themselves into their practice.
I donāt know about you, but I donāt want to spend my life seeking shortcuts.
I want to find what feels like art to me, so that I can get lost.
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āIt is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains.āāThomas X. Huxley
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Links to things Iāve enjoyed this week and think you might enjoy too:
I spoke to my friend Dr Usama Syed on an Insta live. We talked about the differences between UK and USA medicine, his company āLibertyMedicsā and his thoughts on content creation as a Dermatology Resident. Itās packed with wisdom from him so Iād love for you to check it out. Itās currently on my IGTV. Watch here.
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