Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

Have you ever noticed how you breathe when you’re in a flow state—the state where ideas come one after another with ease? Do you breathe the same way from the moment you enter flow until the moment you leave it? And how does your breathing affect your body, your mind, and your thoughts?

I think of the body, mind, and thoughts as a team, with the breath acting as the rhythm keeper. I’ve observed that when I’m in flow, my breathing becomes deeper and steadier, sometimes with brief pauses when I’m doing lighter tasks (like writing UX copy while designing UI). I think those pauses are my body’s way of warning me: I’m multitasking now. And my brain doesn’t like it. If I’m not careful, I might slip out of flow.

The most interesting part is this: whenever I enter flow, I find myself thinking less—sometimes not thinking at all about what I’m doing. It’s as if the work creates itself through me. I don’t feel like the creator. I don’t even know where some of the ideas or skills come from. I just sense them, and then act. At times, it’s hard to explain what design principles I’m even following—because the work feels almost channeled.

Artists, singers, designers—we all know this feeling, and it’s hard to train directly. But breathing? That we can train. I believe that if we can breathe the way we do in flow more often throughout the day, then when flow comes, we’ll stay in it longer. The body, mind, and thoughts can work together as a true team, guided by the rhythm of breath.

In the end, success or failure are just temporary states. What remains with us until the very end might simply be: inhale, exhale, repeat. And perhaps that’s enough—to create, and to be happy.