7.5 Finding your flow as a family

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A hand drawn illustarion of a simple two axis bar chart. The heading is how long time feels when doing different things. The vertical axis is titled length of time felt and is divided into a scale of two seconds, ten minutes, five hours, one hundred years and twelve million years. The horizontal axis is titled activity. There are six bars rising up vertically from the horizontal axis. The first one says thirty seconds of burpees and reaches to between five hours and one hundred years on the vertical scale. The second bar says microwaving food for three minutes and reaches to just above one hundred years on the scale. The third bar says one minute of doing the plank and reaches twelve million years on the scale. The fourth says waiting for an important email and reaches just below twelve million years on the scale. The fifth is having fun and is between two seconds and ten minutes on the scale. The final bar is Sunday and reaches about two seconds on the scale.

Times flies when you are having fun!

Identify favourite activities that family members love to participate in where they are totally engrossed and lose track of time – experiencing ‘flow’.

This might be exercising, baking, reading, playing a game, making crafts, playing an instrument, performing a dance, listening to music, creating art, etc.

Try to find regular times in your week when you can all participate in these activities. By increasing the frequency and intensity of your flow experiences, you will feel more connected to your life and what you value, increasing your wellbeing.

Finding your ‘ikigai’

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A graphic diagram depicting four overlapping circles. The first circle says what you love, the second says what the world needs, the third says what you can be paid for, and the fourth says what you are good at. Where the four circles overlap it says your reason for being.

The Japanese use the term ‘ikigai’, which can be translated to mean your ‘reason for being’. This covers anything that makes your life feel worthwhile.

In the Western definition of ikigai, the term can be broken down into four spheres: what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for. Where all four spheres overlap, you find your ikigai.

The Japanese have a number of 'rules' to uncover your ikigai. These include living for the moment, doing gentle daily exercise, staying in touch with friends and family, and connecting with nature.

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An infographic that details the concept of ikigai. It asks five questions to uncover your ikigai. What are your core values? What are you passionate about? What is your mission? What is your profession? What is your vacation? It also lists the ten rules of ikigai. 1. Stay active and don't retire. 2. Leave urgency behind and adopt a slower pace of life. 3. Only eat until you are 50 per cent full. 4. Surround yourself with good friends. 5. Get in shape through daily gentle exercise. 6. Smile and acknowledge people around you. 7. Reconnect with nature. 8. Give thanks to anything that brightens your day and makes you feel alive. 9. live in the moment. 10. Follow your ikigai.

7.4 Creating a meaningful ritual for your family

7.6 Best possible self-exercise