Week 2

As many competitive athletes begin to excel in sports, the importance of speed, quickness, and drive is stressed into achieve greatness. As a competitive swimmer for 12 years, swimming for multiple teams and traveling to incredible aquatic facilities, my biggest competition was the clock. Qualifying standards, rankings, and close finishes all depended on the clock. I learned to both hate and love the joys of speed. Today, I now swim casually and the clock simply creeps by as measure of how many calories I burn. Whether its sports or daily life that makes us race through life, I agree with Carl Honore that our society has turned into a road runner society that embraces an accelerated world. After discussing level one and two mindlessness, flow, and slow, I have drawn  personal and general connections. Personally I have had multiple "light bulb" moments in class recently in terms placing a label onto the various mindless actions i experience on a daily basis. Whether its driving to a familiar location and not remembering if I needed to stop at a red light, or thoughtfully reading through textbooks and taking notes instead of allowing my mind to wonder. Generally, I couldn't agree more with Carl Honore about how individuals today are unable to connect with reality because of the lack of enough time during the day. Flow was clearly made relatable when Csikszentmihalyi explained in the TED clip that good flow is achieved when a challenge is just above skill level. Flow was a sensation that I experienced when I was winning a long distance race and felt as though no one could catch me. The serenity that comes along with flow can lead to a more relaxed, conscious, and timeless experience that easily connects all three topics we have discussed in class. I have greatly enjoyed the psychological aspect of the class, and it has broaden my understanding of how to follow the Jesuit moto towards educating the whole person.