PolyPaths Recommends #2

Revisiting the Drive for Excellence and Flow

I stumbled upon an opinion piece of David Brooks on living a passionate life, and it has some passages that I strongly connected with —

Based on the work of various psychologists, we could say that the drive for competence is a basic psychological need. No matter how trivial an activity might be, most people seem to feel an innate need to get better at it — whether it’s kids learning double Dutch, me just shooting baskets in the driveway or somebody else proud at how much better he’s getting at flipping pancakes. Whenever you’re seeking improvement, you’re putting yourself on the edge of your abilities, on the hazardous cliff edge of life, and a little built-in thrill accompanies each accomplishment.

A drive for excellence is a core trait of PolyPaths. We recently discussed that excellence is a journey and we should avoid the trap of unreasonable expectations, but what is important is the intrinsic motivation to improve and get better. For me, it is a validation of the definition of polypaths to see that this is one of the four psychological needs of humans (the other three needs are autonomy, belonging and meaning).

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How Flow Looks Like!

The drive for excellence often takes us into the state of flow. The other gem I discovered was this poem by W.H. Auden which beautifully captures this —

You need not see what someone is doing
to know if it is his vocation,
you have only to watch his eyes:
a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon
making a primary incision,
a clerk completing a bill of lading,
wear the same rapt expression,
forgetting themselves in a function.
How beautiful it is,
that eye-on-the-object look.

Flow can be found in the most mundane of things, when we are organizing our shelves or arranging flowers for the living room vase or trying to solve the crossword puzzle. We are in the moment and we are living life!

Next time you see a loved one in a flow state, do take a picture (without disturbing them, of course!). As poetically put by Auden, that expression of flow is truly priceless!

PS: If you read something recently that made you think of PolyPaths, please reply to this email or comment here to share it with us :)