Blog #3--Jessica Moore---Flow

The discussion we had in class about "flow" couldn't have come at a better time for me. It was the beginning of our basketball season and unfortunately I was having trouble getting into my "flow". In class we decided flow was when one was: in a non-reflective mode, totally focused, "in the zone", has a high degree of concentration, has a distorted sense of space and time, and receives direct and immediate feedback. As a basketball player, I couldn't agree more with these definitions. There's a big difference between the way I play when I'm "flowing" and when I'm not. We also talked about how "flow" can't be controlled or forced to happen. This part is tough for me because when I'm in a rut, I won't nothing more than to get my "flow" going again. I find that when I'm in a rut and I'm not "flowing" that I try that much harder to get it flowing, but it has an almost opposite result. I get deeper and deeper into my rut, I start to notice and hear every little thing that my coaches and teammates are saying, I notice every bad shot, bad pass, and bad decision I make and I start to snowball further and further. During this time I became so frustrated because its my senior year and need to play and lead by example. I spoke to some friends, outside from basketball, to get some advice and words of wisdom. The common theme from all of them was: Just do you, play ball, and don't listen to what everyone say, don't let it get to you. Such simple words, words that I have tried to tell myself, but for some reason sounded different coming from someone else, these words set off a light bulb. The following week in practice, I felt different on the court and could see a difference in my play. By no means was I perfect on the court, I still made turnovers and missed easy shots, but I didn't let it get to me, I was in the "flow".