Going with the flow

The often-said adage/advice: “Go with the flow” sounds good, but how many follow it?

I’m in the flow when I write. Time seems to stand still, and I’ve having a great time. There are other experiences in life that produce this effect too, and it’s always nice to find them. Sometimes the flow can be found in regular events in life, and that’s a special gift, I think. It would be great to be able to live your life that way, or at least more parts of it (I’m still working on living it all that way).

Tonight I had an experience with going with the flow – or not. I was waiting in line in a chain-type food place, getting something mildly unhealthy to eat (but oh, so tasty! Got to treat yourself sometimes; might be the subject of an upcoming blog post), which I tend to do rarely these days, as I’m making better choices overall on what I eat.

It seemed there was only one man working in the store, not just on the counter but getting all the food orders together, too. He said a couple of words to me when I came in, then I watched him run around, putting one item on to cook, then packing up another order, and just rushing around. I was standing there for a few minutes, when he finally came over to take my order, but he wasn’t very clear on things. I asked him some questions, then he ran off again to attend to something beeping! The flow was not going well for me in that place.

It didn’t seem like I was going to get good service there, and the menu items they were offering were not at the prices I was looking for, so I was thinking to leave. But where? I was still hungry! Should I just tough it out and be more patient where I was? I noticed there was a competitor’s store across the street, offering the same kind of food, so I called out and excused myself to the busy man (if he even noticed, as he was in the back at the point), and went across the street.

The other store was calm, and someone met me at the counter right away. They had the item I wanted, at the price I was looking for, and promptly took my order. I only had a short wait until I got my item, and it was great!

So, instead of staying at the first store and trying to put my order in (if I could catch the man at the counter), I was well taken care of in the second store and got better quality food at a better value, plus they had lots of nice condiments the other place didn’t offer.

I’m not saying to give up at the slightest sign of a struggle, but it’s good to gauge if you are in the flow or not, and would be better off taking another approach. From my simple experience tonight, the importance of figuring out whether you are in the flow or not was made clear to me once again, as it has been many times in my life. I’ll be sure to be more observant of it next time.

Blog Post Streak Count: Day 5

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