🌊 This weekend, I was in Flow.
After years of shoulder and elbow injuries, I had almost accepted that windsurfing would remain something from my past.
For a while, I went out occasionally — careful, hesitant, afraid to push too hard.
But since this spring, I’ve been back.
Fully.
And this weekend, for two days in a row, everything clicked.
The wind was perfect, the water rough, but I felt weightless.
Every movement effortless, every turn precise.
Forty kilometres per hour and still in full control.
Not thinking. Just being.
That’s Flow — when challenge and skill meet perfectly in the middle.
A state described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, but for me also deeply connected to what Vygotsky called the Zone of Proximal Development:
that delicate space between what we can already do and what we can almost do — with the right support, and in the right circumstances.
My biggest insight last weekend?
Just like in learning, you can’t force progress.
When I try to make the board go faster, to take a turn even sharper, something goes wrong.
But with a bit of patience — and actually less thinking — everything flows.
Of course, I still read the wind and adjust my position, but the most important part is feeling when to lean in and when to let go.
You can’t force it. You have to be patient.
Can I do all of this again tomorrow?
Can I be in Flow again — have that feeling of being the best windsurfer in the world, even if just for ten seconds?
The honest answer: No.
Tomorrow’s circumstances will be different.
If the wind blows just a few knots harder, my sail will be too big for me to handle, and I’d need a smaller board — which I don’t have.
All I can do is remember the feeling and hope that one day the circumstances align again — while saving up for a smaller sail and board, so I can get back on the water even when the wind gets rougher.
There are a lot of parallels with helping our learners find their own Flow.
The good news is: unlike the weather, we (educators) can influence our learners’ circumstances.
We can set the conditions up for success — where learners experience challenge that matches their skill, where they feel connected and supported, and where their autonomy, relatedness, and competence grow together.
Because Flow doesn’t come from control.
It comes from trust — in the process, in others, and in yourself.
You’re their teacher. You know every single one of your learners.
You know what they actually need — and most of the time, that’s something completely different from what the standard program tells you to give.
So be brave. Give it to them.
Get in that Flow together.
You’ll love it. I guarantee it.
Greetings,
Rob Houben
a.k.a. best windsurfer in the world — for about 10 seconds.
P.S. I like to say learners, because I’m not just talking about our students.
I’m talking about you, me, your co-workers — everyone.
Because we’re all learners too.
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