Why going with the flow is often a terrible idea. 

"Going with the flow" sounds nice at first glance. After all, isn’t "flow" supposed to be a desirable physiological state? Isn’t flow when we are most in tune with the universe? Isn’t it when we are most productive and most creative, truly living in the moment, existing without the anxious monkey mind butting in and getting in our own way?

Not exactly. Getting into a state of flow is great. I’m all for that. But going with the flow is actually the opposite. It is going through the motions. It is being swept away by the current of life and chance and luck—good or bad. To go with the flow is to submit to entropy, or the flow of the universe without human intervention. It is dissolution, chaos. But people who fight against the tide are able to give form to the chaos, to beat back entropy and create something beautiful and meaningful out of it all. If you are going with the flow, you aren’t fulfilling your responsibility to fight entropy.

Going with the flow is letting things just happen. It is letting your body fall apart from disuse, your bones crumble, your muscles atrophy. The flow is letting your relationship fall apart because you stopped putting in the effort. Going with the flow is when time slips away from you, and before you realize it, half a year has passed and you have nothing to show for it, not even memories.

You have to selectively go with the flow. Because sometimes you want to flow with the current if the current is currently flowing in the direction you want to go. But even when you’re flowing down a river, you still have to direct yourself. You can't just let the river decide.

I’d even say that you have to earn your right to go with the flow. You have to struggle against entropy for a while until you hit the right spot in the universe where going with the flow is the right thing to do. The main thing is to not think that going with the flow means you can just not do anything with your life, that you don’t have to try, work hard, or endure any unpleasant sensations. There are certainly times where going with the flow is the best path forward, but you can’t do it all the time. And I think the way most people use the phrase 'go with the flow' is destructive and negative. It means settling, it means allowing people to walk all over you, to let life pass you by.

Do you "go with the flow"? What do you think about all this? Am I right, or have I missed something? Let me know on Instagram.