Hey flow fanatics, on this episode of the High Flow Lifestyle podcast we go deep on passion versus flow and exploring your curiosities that can lead to passion as a flow trigger.

Differences Between Passion and Flow

Dr. John Hagel, the cofounder of Deloitte consulting’s Center for the edge, describes how he sees the differences between passion and flow:

Flow describes an “optimal experience,” which is frequently felt by those pursuing their passion. When someone is in flow, they concentrate deeply on “the moment,” caught up in the pleasure and challenge of an immediate task; they clear their minds of all else.

Both flow and passion welcome this state because it offers intrinsic satisfaction and enjoyment in our everyday lives.  However, the differences become apparent as soon as one moves beyond the moment itself and attempts to identify the factors that lead up to “optimal experience.”... 

On this episode of the High Flow Lifestyle podcast I talk with fear and anxiety expert and flow and high-performance facilitator Kristen Ulmer about how controlling your emotions and fear is a myth, but what you can do instead that will also allow you access flow by choice.  

Kristen Ulmer is a thought leader on fear and anxiety who draws from her tenure as the most ‘fearless’ woman extreme skier in the world for 12 years, from intently studying Zen for 16 years and from facilitating thousands of clients on flow and peak performance. 

The author of: The Art of Fear: Why Conquering Fear Won’t Work and What to Do Instead, Kristen radically challenges existing norms about what to do about fear. 

• Accessing flow state by choice, not by chance 
• Using intimacy with fear to enter the flow state.  

“Extreme sports are notorious for taking people into that flow state. You know, into the zone, or sports in general, but especially extreme sports athletes because the athletes are dealing with a tremendous amount of fear. And I think the belief is that these athletes are fearless, and that’s absolutely not the case. What the secret sauce is, is that they are having an intimate experience with their fear. Then as a result they get into a flow state.” 

Hey Flow Fanatics, on this episode of the High Flow Lifestyle Podcast we go deep on a flow trigger called intrinsic motivation and to encourage you a little bit I share one of my flow activities of playing the Shakuhachi Japanese bamboo flute.

A key aspect of flow is doing something for the sake of doing it. You just enjoy doing that particular thing and you don’t need anyone telling you you have to do it. We’ve all had these kinds of activities in our lives and we often have this kind of feeling of timelessness. When you are in the moment your perception of time is altered a bit and things can feel like they are really slowing down, or oppositely like we often say, time flies when you’re having fun.  

Actively pursuing those things that we are intrinsically motivated to do (meaning that it comes from within ourselves) is a way of accessing the flow state. For both ourselves and our children, if you’re a parent, we need to continue to encourage exploration and finding those things that we may one day become interested in. The more things you try, the more likely you are going to find a few things that you really can connect with and enjoy doing. 

But in order to do that you need to forget about the whole idea of a comfort zone, and whether you are in or out of your comfort zone. It’s a made-up field surrounding you and the only thing it’s keeping you in is a limited mindset. Get out there and try as many different things as you can, and as your curiosity develops, that too will help you access flow...

On this episode of the High Flow Lifestyle podcast, I talk with Jennifer Shinkai about Ikigai, or your life purpose, and how she’s re-evaluated her Ikigai and incorporated that into her Entrepreneurial and coaching career.  

An essential element for accessing flow on a regular basis is understanding your purpose or passion. In Japan they have a concept for this called Ikigai, sometimes referred to as your reason for living, or your reason for getting out of bed in the morning- essentially, it’s your WHY.  

There is a western Venn diagram that tries to simplify ikigai by having you list your passions, skills etc., but ikigai is much deeper than that. It is not only about your work and career goals, Ikigai also isn’t only about staying on your one true path, yes, you can re-evaluate your path.  

And you don’t necessarily have to scrap your job and become a freelancer or entrepreneur. But my guest today did re-evaluate her situation and became a successful entrepreneur and coach in Tokyo.  

Originally from the UK, Jennifer holds an MA (Oxon) in English Language and Literature from St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University. 

With an interactive facilitation and coaching approach, she focuses on integrating ikigai (life purpose) into daily work, inclusion in a diverse workplace, resilient leadership development in times of change. As a Points of You® Expert, participants can experience “unexpected but precise” moments of insight and action. 

Hi there, and welcome to High Flow Lifestyle. I’m your host Josh Smith and I’m a peak performance and flow state coach, entrepreneur, researcher, creative, and husband and father, and I love guiding people toward their most fulfilling, happy and High Flow Lifestyle.  

Consider this podcast to be mindset training and motivation for making an important lifestyle and business transformation. This podcast aims to bring a High Flow Lifestyle to anyone who wants to think differently, find their true purpose and focus, and lead a more interesting life to their highest potential.  

Each week I’ll be releasing multiple shows where I will talk with experts, flow fanatics, thriving creatives or entrepreneurs that you can also learn from.  I’ll also have shorter shows on specific topics with some of my own strategies, advice and tips to motivate, inspire, and design your High Flow Lifestyle. 

I refer to it as a lifestyle because contrary to common belief, flow and being in the zone is not an On or Off switch, it’s more like a volume knob. And being in a flow state, has lasting affects for days after the experience as well as heightens your overall creativity. Bringing flow into your lifestyle on a regular basis can have a huge effect on your wellbeing as well as your optimum peak performance.  

It was during my Master's and Doctoral research in Cultural Sociology at Osaka University that I investigated identity formation and finding flow within cultural traditions and groups...