🕒  3 min read

Vision as the Foundation for Flow

Water flows downhill. In physics, this is described as moving from a state of higher potential energy to a state of lower potential energy. It’s the release of energy that makes the water move; movement depends on energy.

Physics talks about four fundamental forces, including gravity and electromagnetism. But living beings are moved by a very different kind of force: the force of motivation. If you watch cars moving along a highway, they flow this way and that. They are not just rolling downhill; they are moved intentionally, flowing in the direction that the driver seeks.

All of our actions begin with a vision – an imagined future state that feels better than the state we’re in now. If you’re driving to visit a friend, this action begins with imagining and feeling what it would be like to visit that person. Even if you’re driving to do a job you don’t really like, you are still doing so voluntarily, based on imagining that doing the job will be less unpleasant than the consequences of not showing up.

Flow Engineering begins with an idea—a vision of what you admire, a goal you deeply resonate with. This vision is the root of everything that follows. It’s a mental blueprint of where you want to go, what you want to achieve, or what you wish to change. This mental model gives direction to our actions, guiding us toward a state that aligns with our goals. Carrying out those actions is a process of identifying and removing whatever obstacles stand in our way.

This process of setting and following a direction requires constant steering, through what is called cybernetics. Cybernetics is the study of the feedback loops that help us refine our actions in response to how well we are progressing toward our target state. It’s about constructing a vision of what “good” looks like, understanding the obstacles between where you are now and where you want to be, and then taking deliberate actions to close that gap.

From Vision to Feeling to Action

Once we create a clear vision, it fills us with feeling—a sense of connection to the outcome we seek. This feeling is what fuels our journey. It helps us think deeply about our situation, identify obstacles, and strategize our next steps.

From thinking, we move into action. Action is what ultimately bridges the gap between your current state and your desired outcome. When you understand the nature of the challenges in front of you, taking action becomes a path toward alignment. The most natural and sustainable actions involve being in a flow state where we can playfully navigate increasingly big challenges. In a state of flow, even setbacks become enjoyable: They are opportunities to learn and improve.

Why This Matters

Flow Engineering is about creating harmony—within ourselves, our teams, and the broader systems we interact with. But harmony is a moving target. The world is in constant flux, and so is our understanding of it. This makes the journey toward harmony dynamic and ever-changing, but also deeply rewarding.

Our actions are guided by our mental models. The key is to ensure that our mental models are supporting behaviors that will eventually bring us to our vision of harmony and success.