6 things that block your Mind from reaching FLOW - More about Tomaranu no Kokoro

The Pen and Sword Journal - Vol 43

When you remember an experienced swordsman, or a practitioner in martial arts in general performing at their best, you’ll recall their movements flowing seamlessly and effortlessly. They attack, dodge, slice, spin, jump, twirl, and lunge in a flurry of action that seems almost like a dance. Also, seasoned athletes and motocross racers navigate the racetrack in much the same way.

This state, a beautiful sight to behold, is what the Japanese martial arts masters call Tomaranu no Kokoro, which means "unstoppable mind" or “a mind that knows no stopping”.

I've mentioned this concept in a previous article, but today I'll explore it further. Specifically, I'll discuss six internal factors that stop the state of flow in our minds.

By cultivating Tomaranu no Kokoro, you achieve unity of mind, spirit, and body, resulting in a powerful and fluid fighting style. The concept of “Tomaru” (stopping or abiding) is the antithesis of the unstoppable mind.

When your mind stops, you freeze on the outside as well, or at least your reaction time becomes slow, and that is not a situation you don’t want to find yourself, especially during an important competition.

So…what stops your Mind from flowing?

6 Triggers of ‘Tomaru’

1- The first and the most obvious: Lack of experience

Simply put, for our mind to flow, it means engaging in something that is within our capabilities and that we enjoy, at least to some extent. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist famous about studies regarding this topic, described flow as a balance between challenge and skills. In other words, it's finding something that is both challenging and enjoyable at the same time.

The enjoyment part is something that it’s entirely up to you to find ways to figure out, as I have already mentioned in this previous article.

As far as the “skills” aspect is concerned, it is important to understand that the Flow starts from our mind, and works its way to manifest in our spirit (Ki) and actions. Therefore, when in a state of flow, you train your mind, body, and spirit to work together as one force, one instrument.

This training occurs in two main areas:

1. A feeling (Kanjiru) that becomes your overall experience of the unity among mind, spirit, and body.

2. Achieving unity of mind, spirit, and body in a specific skill.

For instance, if you're a motocross racer, the first would encompass all the flow experiences you've had, now integrated into your being. The second would involve tackling a new racetrack where you haven't raced before, and you need to train to achieve flow while performing on it.

Certainly, as more general experiences become integrated into our being, the time needed to acquire the second type of experience becomes shorter.

As they say, "your mind forgets, and your body remembers,". Therefore, if you find your mind stopped because you’re overwhelmed with options and not sure which one to pick, or if you feel the task is too challenging, don’t worry. You can overcome this by gaining more experiences of both kinds.

2- Wanting to be somewhere else.

This trigger becomes more apparent as you gain experience. If you find yourself wishing to be somewhere else, it means that there’s something from your past, or something you anticipate in the future, that’s overpowering your desire to be in the flow. This could be something enjoyable or something you’re trying to avoid.

In this case, suggest you take a break, dedicate a set amount of time (let’s say 15 min), to sort things in your mind, and get back with a powerful intention to stay on the track of flow.

Apply the “IF-THEN” technique that is very effective in therapy as well. For example, for people that want to avoid drinking alcohol, they prepare themselves mentally, by making a pact with themselves. The pact goes like this, “IF someone offers me an alcoholic drink, THEN I will reply by asking for water or a soda.”

Similarly, you can prepare yourself by making a pact with yourself. IF the desire to be somewhere else comes and disrupts your flow, THEN you’ll strive to get back on track. But do this calmly and persistently until you succeed. If you approach this with negative emotions, it will be impossible to shift your focus away from that other place in your mind.

There will be days when, no matter what you try, you just can’t concentrate. Our inner biological and psychological rhythms are affected by unseen forces in our unconscious that we don’t completely understand. So if you have a bad day, let it go and give it another shot the next day. There’s no need to be hard on yourself.

3- Judging your performance from “other people’s eyes”.

In this case, with “other people’s eyes” I mean projecting our mind outward and concerning with how others see us perform. It is about letting the prejudices, expectations, or dislikes of others become our own prejudices, expectations, or dislikes about ourselves. This will make us become self-absorbed, and this is a flow killer.

I’m positive you will know what to do when you observe your mind being stopped by this trigger. 😊👇

4- Worrying about failure

Fear about failure is our tendency to gain control of the situation when we feel uncertainty. There are countless ways to deal with this one. But I will share with you what I like to do more when I experience this trigger. This is something I came up by studying and practicing Taoism Lessons.

Before I perform, I visualize the worst possible outcome and accept it. I mentally prepare myself for how I’ll handle failure. Instead of trying to control the situation, I control my scenarios regarding how I’ll manage if things go wrong. Once I’ve made peace with this, I decide to put thoughts of failure aside until, and if, I need to face it.

Of course, there are numerous ways to cope with the fear of failure, and this method is what I've found most effective for myself. You may discover another approach that resonates better with you.

PS: I have made peace with the fact that I can’t always find a perfect solution. So I stick with the best I can come up with.

5- Over rationalizing

In general terms, we have a logical side that thinks and a sensitive side that feels. Both are essential, both have their own weaknesses, and both are ways to express our nature and ideas.

Each of us tends to have a side that is either slightly or significantly more dominant. Some individuals are more feeling-oriented, while others are more thinking-oriented, varying based on their personality. This topic is so interesting that I might write a whole article about it, as it can help us understand ourselves and others better.

Now, the over-rationalizing trigger tends to occur more frequently in individuals with a predominantly rational thinking personality. When we over-rationalize our performance, we tend to construct it mechanically in our minds, rather than engaging both our thoughts, feeling side, and actions simultaneously. In other words, when someone tries to over-rationalize, they make a conscious effort to separate thinking from feeling and acting. As I mentioned at the beginning, to flow, our mind, spirit and body must flow as one force, one unit.

At this point, it's essential to practice thinking, feeling, and acting simultaneously, until this becomes second nature, much like martial artists do when they spar or practice pad work with their coaches.

6- Being overzealous or Overhyped

On the other hand, this tendency is more prevalent in personalities that are more feeling-oriented. Being overhyped occurs when someone's psyche becomes overloaded with emotions, and they haven't developed coping mechanisms to process them and restore inner balance.

Do you remember those times when you were so hyped up that you forgot something important or made a mistake? I recall a few myself, and now I am chuckling as I rememeber those mistakes. Having too much pent-up emotional energy can weigh us down. It's better to release some of that steam and channel it in some way before practice.

There could be many reasons for this. Oftentimes it’s a habit, or maybe something new has happened that they’ve never dealt with before. No matter what the cause is, the key is to work on getting better at understanding and managing emotions. There are lots of books that can help with this. One good one is “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” by Daniel Goleman. I recommend giving it a read.

Conclusion

In summary, the primary triggers that hinder your mind from flowing, and consequently, your actions, are:

1- Lack of experience in practicing Flow

2- Wanting to be somewhere else.

3- Judging your performance from “other people’s eyes”

4- Worrying about failure

5- Over rationalizing

6- Being overzealous or overhyped

The “tomaru” state of mind, characterized by a halt in your mental flow, can disrupt your actions and hinder your progress. However, by understanding its triggers and coming up with strategies to overcome it, you can certainly cultivate an “unstoppable mind.”

And now, after much is said, all that remains is practice and the shaping of your individual experience. It's an experience that I'm certain many of you will share with those who also need to learn about it.

The more we share, the more we grow. 🙏😊

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