This week I did some recruiting to try and get others to participate in my occupation with me. My roommate Emma and I went to the bowling alley. I noticed how much more I enjoyed bowling and having someone with me. However, I don't think it was as fun for her. Emma was in a ski accident last year and suffered from a T.B.I. This was her first time going bowling again since her accident. I could see her getting frustrated as we bowled more and more. At first, I found myself not saying anything because I knew how frustrated I used to get when people would make comments or try and give me advice. I realized that maybe what Emma needed wasn't pointers, but just some encouragement. Through encouraging Emma and letting her talk about her frustration I watched as she slowly got better and better. I found myself thinking about what I would do if I were her Occupational Therapist... maybe that's just becoming our way of thinking now lol.
When it comes to the concept of flow, I have never truly put much thought into what flow is. When thinking about if I experience flow in my new occupation the answer was immediately no. I think this has to do with a lot of outside factors. Normally when I bowl, I am alone. This makes me constantly think about everything else that is going on around me. I noticed I was closer to flow when bowling with Emma. I wasn't worried about what or who was around me I was simply just bowling. This brought me a sense of peace. It was probably the first time I genuinely enjoyed bowling. I think this is what flow does for oneself. Being in flow simply makes the activity that you are doing more enjoyable because it is as if the mind is on pause. As someone with ADHD my mind never truly stops thinking, but I realized when I experience flow my mind is at peace because all it is thinking about is the occupation at hand.
I truly don't know if I will ever experience flow within my new occupation. I think that in order to experience flow when bowling. I would need to be at a bowling alley with one lane and no workers, but considering this is unrealistic I am not sure if I will ever experience it. I definitely noticed I was closer to the experience of flow when bowling with someone. I think this was because it was the first time I truly got to challenge my new skills with someone else there. I am excited to see as I get more consistent with bowling if I begin to experience flow more often,
Hey Girl! You bring up a really good point. I think music would definitely get me in more of a flow when bowling. I have never really paid attention to the music they play at the bowling alley, but I will definitely try next time with some headphones. I think if I was able to pick the genre it would help me experience flow a lot better.
ReplyDelete