What Did You Love When You Were 10 Years Old?

For Book Club, We are reading the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi. It is the concept that if you create periods of intense concentration on an activity where you lose track of self, time and emotion then you have “flow”. This leads to greater life satisfaction as you have a sense of accomplishment. The task should be challenging enough and must fulfil the concept of  “getting in the zone”.  An example would be a running a marathon. Definitely not an easy task but once complete would lead to an immense sense of achievement and fulfilment.

So with this in mind, I thought of the idea that what you loved when younger, is actually your list of what gives you flow. (I got the idea from Gretchen Rubin’s incredible book, The Happiness Project.) Flow was probably abundant in those days. Yes, there was pressure from school and with friends but we didn’t have the stress we feel as adults yet .

So, to get us thinking about the practical application of flow, I would like you to create a list of 10 things that you loved when you were 10 yrs old. My list looks something like this:

1. Reading. My favourite topics back then were history, mythology, art, archeology and mystery novels like Nancy Drew!
2. Dancing. Any excuse to shake it.
3. Drawing. I was never crafty but loved to draw people in particular.
4. Writing. I  liked story telling and have always had an (over)active imagination but I really loved to look things up and research topics.
5. Talking to friends. I loved spending time with friends, socializing and laughing.
6. Studying. I know, I am a nerd but I always had a tremendous sense of accomplishment from studying and getting good grades.
7. Traveling with my family.
8. Movies. I am a huge movie buff and always have been. Much like reading it is the opportunity to immerse yourself in another world that really appeals to me.
9. Holidays, birthdays and supper time. I loved the rituals of food, family and celebration.
10.  Nature. Our house was in front of a wooded area and I loved the trees. I never realized how much until we moved  away. Being in nature, energizes and relaxes me (at the same time).

Nothing has changed! What I loved then, I still love now. For a long time I was too “busy” to incorporate even half this list into my life. And my happiness suffered. Little did I know that I am actually a more productive person when I include these things in my schedule. There are actually many opportunities to have flow in my life.

And remember that a healthy mind helps support a healthy body.

What does your list look like?

Are you doing all the things you loved when you were 10 yrs old, today?

Do you think if you introduced some of these things back into your life, you would create more flow?

I would love to know what other people’s lists are! Let’s start some discussion!