Randy Charach presents Mind Flow, a state combining mindfulness and psychological flow. People have 50-70k thoughts daily and spend nearly half their waking time mind-wandering, which correlates with unhappiness. He shares concrete practices: breathing meditation, observing thoughts without attachment, mindful driving, and full attention in conversations.
Let's give it up for Randy Charach. Thank you. Mind flow is a balance of mindfulness and a notion in psychology called flow. Mindfulness is when you're completely aware, when you're in the now. Flow is when you're fully immersed in your activity at hand. when you're in the zone. Many studies have shown that both mindfulness and flow have numerous physical and mental health benefits. Mind flow is a state of mind where you'll reach your optimal level of happiness and achievement. And in order to reach mind flow, first of all, you have to recognize that we're not always in complete control of our thoughts. Take a moment to consider the quality and the quantity of your thoughts. We have an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. 46.9% of our waking hours are spent thinking about something other than what we're doing at the moment. And that wandering state of mind leads to unhappiness. Many times we are in control of our thoughts. How many times have you heard someone say, if he would have said one more word, I would have let him have it? Or you've held yourself back from losing your cool. The question for you now is, are your thoughts vulnerable to outside influences? Yes, I'm asking you. Hi, what's your name? Joanna. Joanna, nice to meet you. I'm Randy. Joanna, I'd like you to think of a 3-digit number. Now, I am going to try to influence you, and I'm not going to try to make it too obvious. Do you have one in your mind? You have just under 1,000 choices. Sit quietly for just a few minutes each day and relax your mind. You can do this by focusing on your breathing, and thoughts will enter your mind. Observe them and let them go. When you find yourself deeply entrenched in some sort of story, or you're thinking, oh, I forgot to pick up milk, or somebody tweeted something I didn't like, or whatever, get yourself just Just let it go, get yourself back to your breathing. Now, I know we're all very busy. We can't necessarily take a few minutes each day to do this. Well, here's the good news. You can do this. You can be mindful throughout your day in everything that you do. Here's something you can try today when you leave here. When you're driving your car, pay attention to your hands on the wheel. When you look in the rearview mirror, notice you're looking in the rearview mirror. Again, you're on the outside looking in and you're observing every nuance of your driving experience. You're completely focused and completely aware. And again, this is practice of the Mind Flow. And keep in mind, there's no one more important than the person in front of you. Be present when you're present. Don't let an email or a phone call distract you from the important moments in your life. If you completely focus on the person who's in front of you, and when meeting a new person, repeat their name, you'll never forget a person's name again, and your relationships will start off on a much stronger foot. You can find passion in everything you do— in your work, in the arts, in study, in sports. Think about people who are watching or playing sports, how involved they are, and sometimes reach their Their highest level of achievement. And it's never too late to learn a new skill. I just learned how to swim a few years ago. Now I swim every morning after I drop my kids off to school. And you may think swimming's boring, but nothing's boring when you're in a constant state of mind flow. When I'm swimming, I'm focusing on my arms, on my legs, on the breathing, on the sensation of the water, on the beauty of the silence. Your life is determined by your thoughts, and I truly suggest you take control of your thoughts, and you too can achieve Mindflow. Thank you.
