the 50 steps thought and finding flow

consider that you start learning a new skill

could be anything, just something that you are unfamiliar with and have not done before

now consider that you begin the first 3 steps towards this skill.

they each go swimmingly, you cannot believe how easy this new skill is to master

In your mind, you begin to project out to step 50

there are two extremes to this thought experiment:

Boredom : you forecast all 50 steps with ease and are no longer interested (the journey is no longer interesting when the destination is known)

Anxiety: you forecast to a certain point and think it to be uncrossable (the journey hits a dead end, so I can never reach the destination.

how can you find your way back to the middle ground between these two and enter flow to work on the project?

The truth is that each situation is different, however there are some universal themes. I have written before about a time I was able to overcome the anxiety of an unknown challenge.

I find that a similar approach actually can work with boredom. Instead of focussing on the destination only, think about what can be learned each step of the way. create challenges within these steps to move closer to the middle of the chart