I had intentions of sharing something different, but life happens and this felt more relevant. 

Some say I'm an adrenaline junky, but I’ve called myself a Flow Chaser ever since I read “The Rise of Superman” by Stephen Kotler. In the book, he explores the science of “Flow”, which is a state of consciousness where people perform at their highest level.  The book draws on over a decade of research and interviews athletes like Laird Hamilton, Jeremey Jones, and Danny Way.   For me, it provided a deeper level of understanding of myself and who I have been for all of my life. I have been in a constant search of flow, because of how it made me feel and how it positively impacted other aspects of my life.  I’m not going to go too deep but I want to give some context before continuing.  Flow requires a challenge.  Usually, tasks are 4% more difficult than a person’s current skill set.  Flow also happens in stages: struggle, release, flow, and recover.  Finally, flow can be applied to different aspects of life. Flow is that “runner’s high” or when folks say they’re in the ”zone”. I have always described it as unconscious hyper focus.  But, as with most things in life, there is an obstacle that must be overcome before you can reap the benefits. Struggle, it is paramount for so many things in life.  It comes before success, innovation, results, completion, and flow. It is a norm.  That means other norms have to be, doing it again, trying harder, or getting back up.