FRICTION and VISCOSITY - Jumping back into the creative flow
FRICTION and VISCOSITY - Jumping back into the creative flow
You’ll never reach the destination, because that’s death. I don’t know what happens after that. But it’s your job, and mine, to improve until we get there.
But I skipped a few steps.
How’s it going? Did you have a good holiday weekend? I did, although, truth be told, I like working better. During holidays I tend to eat too much and stop writing, both of which depress me. So I’m glad to be back in the flow this morning and get writing again. I feel much better when I’m creating. Perhaps you can relate.
Last week I found some metaphors about the coaching I provide to leaders and creators like you. I was driving to a networking meeting, thinking about what I would say to help people understand how I serve my clients, which is a perpetual challenge for me. And then it hit me.
I help to remove their obstacles to effortless creation. And I do this by working with their energy, which I find by talking to them, listening carefully, and engaging in highly intentional Socratic dialogue. I measure their current state against their IDEAL, and help discern exactly the next step to move in the right direction. And I’m able to do this because of my clear understanding of the perpetual absurdity that is the result of the intersection between dissatisfaction and wonder that we constantly experience within the human condition.
That’s what I do, but it’s not what I said. What I said involved 2 metaphors. I couldn’t figure out which one I preferred, but it didn’t matter because, as I discovered, they’re actually both the same.
One is FRICTION. The other is VISCOSITY. I help leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to reduce both so that they can move through life and create what they want with less resistance.
Most people know what FRICTION is, but here’s Google’s definition: “the resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another.”
Life is full of friction, and always will be. We can get better at overcoming it. Many, many sources of friction offer resistance to our goals, and they can all be overcome. In fact, our goals are not meaningful if they do not offer some kind of resistance to our spirit. That’s one way to think of it.
VISCOSITY is a bit less widely-known, but by no means obscure. Simply put, it’s a liquid’s resistance to flow. Oil has a higher viscosity than water. Caramel and tar higher still. Liquid nitrogen has a very low viscosity. Have you ever seen it move across a surface? It flows very easily. I still remember a delightful day like this in high school chemistry class:
I help your energy to be more like water, or even liquid nitrogen, and less like caramel or tar.
Here’s the definition of viscosity: the state of being thick, sticky, and semifluid in consistency, due to internal friction.
Do you see?! It’s ultimately the same - it’s ALL friction, and my intuition knew this, which is why “Existential Friction” has become one of the signature metaphysical concepts I teach people about. Viscosity is helpful, because it provides a clear image of INTERNAL friction, which many leaders feel, often without realizing it. We sometimes need help being at peace with our own energy, so that’s always the first job. Then we can address the external sources of friction, of which there are always plenty.
People at the meeting shared that these metaphors were helpful for them.
The result of this work is a feeling of intentional lightness that comes from inspiration, clarity, and belief in yourself. I’m able to offer this because I see people for who they are, which paradoxically includes who they want to be and always will, because the IDEAL is ultimately unattainable, but it’s our job in this life to keep growing and improving until we get to the end and to help others do the same. I don’t know what happens after we get to the end.
Here’s that first paragraph again. As I said, I skipped a few steps 🙂
“You’ll never reach the destination, because that’s death. I don’t know what happens after that. But it’s your job, and mine, to improve until we get there.”
It felt good to write that. I hope you are doing well and jumping back into your creative flow. Talk to me if this message feels helpful for you: https://calendly.com/aaronjmarx/30min