FLOW | Yiwen Zhang | TEDxRDFIS Youth
Joel, a speaker who admits to not being a perfect student, shares his personal journey of discovering "flow" by teaching children in a village in Guizhou, China. He argues that flow is a unique, achievable superpower found in activities one genuinely enjoys, illustrated by his own experience of waking up early to prepare lessons and adapting his teaching methods to engage students with cartoons when they found his initial lessons boring. He concludes that the mindset of enjoyment and self-belief, coupled with perseverance through setbacks, is key to finding and sustaining flow, making work feel effortless. ## Speakers & Context - Joel, the speaker, admits to not being a perfect student and having had many different teachers. - He is sharing his personal take on the concept of "flow." - He mentions a photographer did "special makeup" on him for a picture and he won't return to that photo booth. - He references teachers like Doctor Dennis, Doctor Papa, Mr. Aqib, and Miss Helen. - He mentions a friend named Laura who was with him during a visit to a student's family in Guangzhou. - He mentions a friend who works as a pilot for China Southern Airlines, flying models like the 330s and 350s. - He references his own ECA (Extra-Curricular Activity) where he hosts food-related events on Thursdays. - He acknowledges that finding flow is a process of trial and error. ## Theses & Positions - Flow is a state of high concentration and focus, where one is so engrossed that external distractions are ignored. - Flow is a "superpower" because it is hard to achieve but unique to each individual. - Flow doesn't require complicated or "high-end" activities; it can be found in simple enjoyments. - Drawing on personal experience and adapting to circumstances are crucial for teaching and finding flow. - Enjoying an activity makes it feel less like work and leads to positive outcomes. - Perseverance through setbacks and a belief in oneself are essential for finding and maintaining flow. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Flow:** A state of high concentration and focus, where one is so engrossed in an activity that external distractions are ignored. The speaker also describes it as a "superpower" unique to each individual, found in enjoyable activities. - **Dory (from Finding Nemo):** Used as an example of someone who is distracted and loses what's important (Nemo), contrasting with the focus required for flow. - **ECA (Extra-Curricular Activity):** The speaker hosts a food-related ECA on Thursdays. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Teaching in Guizhou:** Joel had to teach children in a village, preparing lessons from 6 AM daily, checking classrooms, and ensuring safety on running tracks. He drew inspiration from his own past teachers to guide his lessons. - **Adapting teaching methods:** When students found his initial lessons boring, he researched their interests and taught them to draw cartoon figures, which led to them being well-focused and respectful. - **Pilot's advice:** The pilot friend advised being smart, having a plan, and being passionate, but also cautioned against eating spicy food before important events due to potential digestive issues. - **Food as a connector:** The speaker uses his passion for food to connect with people through his ECA, as "everybody eats at some point." - **Climbing a pyramid:** The process of finding flow is described as climbing a pyramid, starting with basic understanding, trying things out, experiencing setbacks, finding new methods, encountering challenges and opportunities, and eventually reaching a sustainable stage of enjoyment and accomplishment. - **Perseverance through setbacks:** The speaker emphasizes continuing despite challenges, learning from them, and not letting negative feedback (like students finding lessons boring) deter him. ## Timeline & Sequence - **Past:** Speaker had various teachers and was not a "perfect student" or "greatest mathematician." - **Specific period in Guizhou:** Speaker taught children in a village, waking up at 6 AM daily to prepare. - **August in Guangzhou:** Speaker experienced scorching heat (30°C / 80-90°F) and visited a student's family. - **Second day of teaching arts:** Students found the class boring and wanted something else. - **Pilot's experience:** Flew from Shenzhen to Mexico City (16 hours 30 minutes) and experienced diarrhea due to spicy food. - **Every Thursday:** Speaker hosts his food-related ECA. - **Weekend activity:** Speaker searches for new foods, restaurants, and meal combinations. - **The process of finding flow:** Described as climbing a pyramid with stages of learning, trying, setbacks, adaptation, and eventual success. - **Future:** Speaker promises to be back next year to teach and sign up on time. ## Named Entities - **Joel:** The speaker. - **Doctor Dennis:** A former teacher of the speaker. - **Doctor Papa:** A former teacher of the speaker. - **Mr. Aqib:** A former teacher of the speaker. - **Miss Helen:** A former teacher of the speaker. - **Guizhou:** A village in China where the speaker taught. - **Guangzhou:** A location where the speaker experienced heat and visited a student's family. - **Laura:** The speaker's friend who accompanied him during a visit to a student's family. - **China Southern Airlines:** The airline where the speaker's pilot friend works. - **Shenzhen:** A city from which the pilot flew. - **Mexico City:** The destination of the pilot's long flight. ## Numbers & Data - **6 AM:** The time Joel would wake up every day to prepare for class in Guizhou. - **30°C:** The temperature in Guangzhou during August. - **80 to 90 Fahrenheit:** The equivalent temperature in Fahrenheit for 30°C. - **Two kids:** Pictured with the speaker and his friend Laura during a family visit. - **45 minutes:** The duration Joel had to keep students in the classroom when teaching arts. - **330s, 350s:** Models of aircraft flown by the speaker's pilot friend. - **16 hours 30 minutes:** The duration of the pilot's flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City. - **10 to 20 minutes:** The time the pilot was stuck in the restroom after his meal. - **Every Thursday:** The day Joel hosts his food-related ECA. - **Every year:** The speaker mentions visiting student families annually. - **Next year:** The speaker promises to return to teach. ## Examples & Cases - **The speaker's photo:** The photographer had to do "special makeup" on him, and he won't return to that photo booth. - **Dory from Finding Nemo:** Used as an example of distraction, contrasting with the focus of flow. - **Teaching in Guizhou:** Waking up at 6 AM daily to prepare lessons, check classrooms, and ensure safety, despite not being a "perfect student" or "greatest mathematician." - **Drawing on past teachers' methods:** Asking himself what his teachers would say or how they would teach a math question. - **Adapting to student boredom:** Teaching cartoon drawing when students found his initial art lessons boring, leading to their engagement. - **Pilot's flight experience:** A 16.5-hour flight where spicy food caused severe digestive issues, leading to a cautionary tale about food choices before important events. - **Food as an ECA:** Hosting a food-related ECA on Thursdays, using food as a way to connect with people. - **Searching for new foods on weekends:** Exploring different restaurants and meal combinations. - **Setbacks in teaching:** Curriculums not working out, students finding lessons boring, and wanting different teachers. - **The speaker's own drawing:** A "rough" drawing of a cartoon figure on the whiteboard. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Cell phone:** Mentioned in the context of being turned off during flow. - **Meme of Finding Nemo:** Used to illustrate distraction. - **Camera/Photographer:** Used for the speaker's picture. - **Whiteboard:** Used to display student artwork. - **Aircraft models:** 330s and 350s. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Academic definitions vs. personal understanding:** The speaker prefers to explain his understanding of flow rather than giving academic definitions. - **Being a "perfect student" vs. teaching:** The speaker, not a perfect student, found himself teaching children in Guizhou. - **Boring lessons vs. engaging lessons:** Adapting from boring lessons to teaching cartoon drawing to keep students engaged. - **Spicy food vs. plain food before important events:** The pilot's experience highlights the trade-off between enjoying spicy food and the risk of digestive issues. - **Work vs. enjoyable activity:** When in flow, an activity doesn't feel like work. - **Giving up vs. persevering:** The speaker advocates for perseverance through setbacks. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The speaker admits he is "not the perfect student" and "not the greatest mathematician." - He acknowledges that finding flow doesn't have a "definite answer" and takes "time and trial and error." - He admits that some of his "curriculums never actually worked out." - He notes that some students told him lessons were boring and they wanted another teacher. - He states that the pilot's advice about spicy food was "really bad advice." - He acknowledges that "things are not always fair," "sometimes it's unwarranted," and "sometimes you'll want to give up." ## Conclusions & Recommendations - Flow is a personal superpower that can be found in enjoyable activities. - Perseverance, self-belief, and drawing on personal experiences are key to finding flow. - Adapting and learning from setbacks are crucial for growth and success. - The speaker recommends finding something one is passionate about and enjoying it, as this makes work feel effortless. - He advises his peers to find something they are passionate about. ## Implications & Consequences - By finding flow, the speaker was able to engage students and create a positive learning environment. - The pilot's experience highlights the potential negative consequences of poor food choices before critical tasks. - The speaker's journey suggests that even those who don't fit the mold of a "perfect student" can find success and fulfillment through passion and perseverance. - Finding flow can lead to a more enjoyable and less stressful experience of work and life. ## Verbatim Moments - *"You know, I look very different because, you know, the photographer had to do a special makeup on me. I'm never going to that photo booth again."* - *"No, I don't like to give academic definitions like that's not my thing."* - *"Like Dory is distracted. And that's kind of why she lost Nemo."* - *"It's superpower in the sense that it's so hard to achieve, but it's a superpower also because it's unique to each and every one of us."* - *"And it doesn't have to be something very complicated or high end."* - *"I'm not the perfect student."* - *"They'll tell you I'm not the greatest mathematician."* - *"Being a part time parent. And I'll be honest, it's not an easy job. It's not close to easy."* - *"I was still surprised by how I could wake up six in the morning for something like this. If somebody told me one day, Joe, you're waking up six for school, I'm like, nah, I'm not doing that."* - *"Why would Doctor Dennis say. What would Doctor Pappas say now? How would Miss Celina teach this math question?"* - *"This is an addiction. Almost."* - *"Scorching August in Guangzhou. The temperature was hitting 30 C."* - *"For anyone that uses a different unit of measurement."* - *"I really enjoyed having these two kids there to my, I think, left side and to the right side of the picture is my friend Laura."* - *"Yeah, it was a very fun trip."* - *"So the batteries ran out."* - *"I have him. I've had had him for two years in English, although I taught arts this time, so it wasn't all smooth."* - *"Joe, the class is kind of boring."* - *"Joe, the class is getting a little boring."* - *"The one that looks a little more rough. I drew that I did my best."* - *"I'm like, wow, you know, we can achieve this much just by doing something we enjoy."* - *"And if anybody asks, I'll be there again next year, right? I promise I'll be there again next year. I'll make sure I sign up on time."* - *"He works as a pilot, he flies many different models from the three 30s all the way to the three 50s."* - *"The longest flight 16 hours and 30 minutes."* - *"He was sitting there in that metal tube, crammed."* - *"He gave me some advice he wants me to think about for this speech and for my career, both as a student and any other thing I want to do."* - *"You know, have a plan. I'm like, you know, that's great advice. That's really deep."* - *"Be passionate. I'm like, that's very deep, too."* - *"Don't eat anything spicy because you can, like before you do something important, like giving a speech or flying a plane because that box of noodles, um, gave him diarrhea."* - *"So here's what happened."* - *"And after 10 to 20 minutes of him finishing his meal and he was like, I have this weird feeling in my stomach right now."* - *"So he had to get his coworkers into the cockpit, keep the door locked, and he was stuck in the restroom for like 15 to 20 minutes."* - *"So it's really bad advice. Don't eat anything strong on your stomach before something grant's about to happen, because you're not going to want to get diarrhea there."* - *"And it can also be something so simple and so basic, like being a fan of food."* - *"I can't eat nonstop from daylight to the day when the day ends."* - *"I host every Thursday with food, and this is something you can connect easily with people because everybody eats at some point."* - *"I don't have a definite answer, unfortunately."* - *"You know, as much as I like to give something simple and straightforward, it just takes time and it takes trial and error."* - *"You start with very basic things. You understand how something works, you give it a try, and when you climb up, you're going to start experiencing setbacks."* - *"You know, at some point you'll feel like giving up, right? But don't."* - *"And you just keep going. Keep going. You find new methods. Good. And you encounter some new friends. You know, new challenges, new opportunities."* - *"And eventually you'll hit that stage, that block of time where you're like, I just did something amazing. And I could keep going because it has to be sustainable."* - *"Yes, I experienced a lot of setbacks myself."* - *"You know, some curriculums never actually worked out. And I had kids when I taught them, like they would tell me the lessons. Boring. They would want another teacher."* - *"This can be hard at you on like at first it was hard on me because, I mean, it hurts my feelings, right?"* - *"But I'm like, you know what? What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger. Like, with that mindset, I just kind of kept going. I'm like, I'll just keep going. I'll just let it go. Slip. And it turned out all right."* - *"Like the mindset of, hey, I can do this. And I really, really enjoy doing this. Like it's everything."* - *"And there are times where things are not always fair. There are. Sometimes it's unwarranted. Sometimes it's challenging, and sometimes you'll want to give up. Like it's happened to me numerous times already. Like I'm used to it."* - *"But for me, the advice would be no, don't give up. Just keep going. Keep pushing. No, you've got to believe in yourself and enjoy what you're doing, because that way it doesn't even feel like you're working."* - *"And eventually you'll find out things turn out all right."* - *"And that's it for me. I hope all of you find something that you're passionate about, especially my peers, and have a nice day. Thank you."*