Dance like no-one is watching

My Thought for the Week last week was all about becoming autotelic (someone who does things for their own sake, rather than for rewards or recognition from others). I referenced the book ‘Flow’ by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which explains how anyone can become autotelic if they adopt the right mindset and find the thing (or things) that make them tick.

This week’s message tells the story of a teacher from New York (Ms Lockwood) who asked her pupils to write letters to famous authors asking for advice on how to succeed in that profession. Only one received a reply – from Kurt Vonnegut Jr., an 84-year-old writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. Here is a copy of what he wrote:

I imagine many would find it odd if asked to write a poem (and ensure it was as good as it could be) only to tear it up and throw it away so no one else ever saw it. Kurt Vonnegut was, of course, responding to the question he’d been asked – what advice he could give on how to become a successful author – and his answer was to become an autotelic person, by doing things just to experience and enjoy them, rather than for any other reason.

I asked our students to think about the activities they do when they lose track of time – perhaps their favourite subject, or when they’re playing a sport or a musical instrument – to understand where they are likely to experience ‘flow’.

The 19th-century author Mark Twain once said:

Find a job you enjoy doing and you’ll never work a day in your life.

One of our main aims at Brentwood is to help our students do that – and one of the best ways we can do so is by helping them work out how to find the things that make them tick.

Have a great weekend

Best wishes

Michael Bond