When you are doing an activity you love, time seems to behave differently doesn’t it? It goes by way too fast 😂
It is as if you get lost inside the activity, becoming part of it. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called this feeling “flow”, and said it was the secret to happiness.
In Love + Work by Marcus Buckingham (still loving this book!), he calls these activities “red threads”, saying our lives are made up of many black, white, brown and gray threads - many situations, people, and activities that are “emotionally meager” - but some are red.
Red threads are extremely positively charged. And they are the source of our uniqueness.
They don’t tell us at what job we’ll succeed, but how we’ll succeed at whatever job we choose.
To identify your red threads, identify frequent patterns by asking these questions from Love + Work (p 78):
When was the last time…
…you lost track of time?
…you instinctively volunteered for something?
…someone had to tear you away from what you were doing?
…you felt completely in control of what you were doing?
…you surprised yourself by how well you did?
…you were singled out for praise?
…you were the only person to notice something?
…you found yourself actively looking forward to work?
…you came up with a new way of doing things?
…you wanted an activity to never end?
You will most likely find some overlap in your answers!
Once you identify your red threads, Marcus (and I) challenge you to “weave them into the fabric of your life.”
Research by the Mayo Clinic shows that spending just 20 percent of your time at work doing what you love reduces the likelihood of burnout significantly. (p 80)
This is great news!
P.S. If you want to experience how working with a coach can help you identify your red threads, click the button in the lower right corner and schedule a FREE call with me!