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June 30, 2006
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
A few months ago I read "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced "chick-sent-mi-hi-yee", don't ask me how I know). I was interested because I frequently experience "flow" while working, but hadn't been able to put a name to what I felt. In fact, achieving flow is often the difference between what I consider to be a good shift and a bad shift, regardless of my production numbers at the end of the night. Since identifying the importance of "flow" in my job, I actively seek it.
Yesterday I found myself identifying "flow" in another area, I went to a nurse practitioner who specializes in pain management. I've had problems with an area of my rib cage for about three months now, and we thought I had a condition known as "slipping rib syndrome". I went to see the practitioner for prolotherapy in order to fix my rib, but he felt more strongly that I was experiencing intercostal neuritis, which is much easier to fix.
He gave me a couple of injections, a local antesthetic followed by a steroid. I'm the biggest wuss in the world when it comes to needles (when he picked it up I had to turn to the wall so I wouldn't see it), and was scared to death, but he was so gentle I never felt more than a pin prick. As he left the room, he turned to me and said "Did I hurt you?" almost teasingly, and I realized the satisfaction he receives in being able to inject sensitive areas without causing pain for his patient. Then it hit me, THAT was his "Flow"!
Posted by Anna at June 30, 2006 7:43 PM