Heather Lees - Flow

During class, we had a discussion about each of our different experiences with "flow". My own personal favorite experience of flow was back in high school, while I was racing horses. Although people get this feeling in just about any sport, I feel like it is even better when racing horses. I have also participated in many other sports but instead of a team, I formed a partnership with my horse. For each and every race, I developed the same feeling. Having no sense of time or place and only focusing on the finish line is such an exhilerating feeling for me. Looking back after each race, I would not be able to say what was going through my mind during the time of the actual race. I was so caught up in the moment that I don't even know what I was thinking. During that moment, all of my focus was on my horse and I. Being in a place where you don't even think to look behind you to see what place you are in and focusing only on the finish line causes you to mentally be lost in the moment, experiencing what flow really is. No matter how bad my day may have been prior to the race, any feeling of negativity would escape my mind. I was focused on one thing and on one thing only: making it to the finish line... and hopefully in first place.