⚡️Flow Lever 6: Drop the Self-Consciousness
Ignore the Haters (Especially Those That Come From Within)
*This is part of a series on how to design flow experiences to propel your creative work.
If you’re too in your head, you won’t get into Flow.
A key element of flow is that feelings of self-consciousness slip away and you’re completely focused on the task at hand.
If you’re focused on the negative self-talk, limiting beliefs, and fears of being judged or rejected…your attention is less focused on the present moment (and thus no Flow).
The good news is that if you’ve applied everything from the other Flow levers in the Find Your Flow Checklist so far, your attention will naturally be fully utilized, leaving no room for self-conscious thoughts.
BUT - you can further eliminate the self-consciousness by asking yourself these questions and getting creative with your responses:
✅ Ask Yourself: “Am I feeling self-conscious or worried about being judged?”
- What about this makes me feel self-conscious?
- What negative self-talk, worries, or limiting beliefs might be getting in my way?
- How might I accept, challenge, or reframe these?
- How could I lessen perfectionism?
- How could I focus more on the process of what I am doing vs. the outcome?
- How could I make this less about me — and more about something else (e.g. helping others, contributing to something bigger)
👇Experience more Flow when you put the Find Your Flow Checklist into action👇
👉Grab your free copy of the Find Your Flow Checklist.
⚡️Use this checklist before any creative work session to significantly increase your chances of getting into Flow.🤘
When you get the free checklist, you’ll also get a free mini-course via email diving deeper into each Flow element.
More About Coach Jeff
In my time spent in my Positive Psychology PhD program studying under the Flow master himself (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), from my own experiences bringing more Flow to my creative endeavors, and from coaching hundreds of clients across every creative domain, I’ve identified 6 specific “levers” that you can use to deliberately design your activities for more Flow.
I share them with you in my free Find Your Flow Checklist.
My name is Jeff Fajans (rhymes with “lions”) and I help creative entrepreneurs bring their biggest ideas to life and reach their next level of creative success.
I have a PhD in Positive Organizational Psychology from Claremont Graduate University, where I studied under Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the world-renowned author of Flow. My research focused on how to help people learn, develop, and lead more effectively to better achieve creative goals.
I am also an avid music creator and guitar player. 🤘
Through my 1-on-1 coaching, 30-Day Creative Momentum Challenge community, internationally acclaimed digital courses, and speaking engagements, I’ve helped thousands of people from around the world connect with their purpose, clarify their creative vision, amplify their motivation, and create actionable strategies that make achieving their most meaningful goals inevitable.
These are people who are pursuing big goals like starting or leading a business (and scaling it to higher levels of innovation & growth), writing + filming a feature film (and it winning a Sundance award), building an app or product (and getting accepted into Y Combinator or getting VC funding), writing a book (and hitting the Amazon bestseller list) or even exploring a meaningful side hustle or passion project.
