#47 – In The Zone: How to Shift From Distraction to Flow State to Boost Your Focus, Productivity, & Creativity | Empowerment & Career Advice

[00:00:00] loree philip: Hi, and welcome to the daring to leap podcast. I'm your host, Loree Philip. I'm so excited to dive into this week's episode with you. You know that feeling when you're in flow in the zone. You're so focused. You lost track of time and creativity and productivity just flows out with ease. What if we could shift out of the busy-ness of the day into this effortless state of flow, when we need to focus and bring our most productive and creative selves to our work in projects. Tune in today as we dive into flow state. What it is the benefits.

[00:00:38] loree philip: And most importantly, how to shift into flow to boost our productivity and creativity. Let's dive in.

[00:00:48] loree philip: We have a special guest on the podcast today. Nkem Chukwumerije is here.

[00:00:54] loree philip: Nkem is. A teaching artist, a healing artist, and a creative [00:01:00] entrepreneur, she's a writing teacher of 11 plus years and a yoga teacher, highlighting how our bodies are portals to unique wisdom and deeper authenticity.

[00:01:10] loree philip: Through her work and passions, Nkem hopes other beings will gain a deeper relation to themselves, a sense of community, and more access to the greater personal. and spiritual enlightenment. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome to the podcast.

[00:01:27] Nkem: Thank you for having me, Laurie.

[00:01:28] loree philip: So I'm so glad that you're here and I really, love what you're up to, going through your bio and your focus on supporting others to really tap into that deep inner wisdom and authenticity, I think is a much needed area for us to explore that we haven't been able to do in the past.

[00:01:50] loree philip: Especially lately with how busy we are from a digital perspective and always being logged in and connected [00:02:00] on social media and things like that. So I really appreciate your work and I'm glad you're here. I would love to learn a bit about, where did you start with your career? How did you end up doing this work?

[00:02:13] loree philip: And what was that journey like for you?

[00:02:16] Nkem: Okay, yes. Thank you so much for having me. It's really a blessing to be doing this work because I feel it is my authentic work. What I would be doing if, time didn't exist or the idea of a career didn't exist. I'd be doing this anyway. But where I started was actually in the fashion industry.

[00:02:33] Nkem: I have been a very creative, artistic person from birth. That's just the natural way for me. The way that brings me back to my sense of home. And so I wanted to study fashion design because I was designing as a child. But then I studied fashion business because I felt it would be more practical. These decisions that we take or we're influenced to take very early on that.

[00:02:54] Nkem: That set the trajectory for our lives. Really? Am I going to go the artistic route or am I going to go the more practical [00:03:00] route? So I studied fashion business and fashion merchandising and but it still had this creative element to it in school. And then I got out of school and I started working in the industry a bit and I was not satisfied with the work that I was doing in those particular companies because they were super corporate.

[00:03:16] Nkem: It just wasn't me at all. I felt something more creative something more hands on something that I can like. Have an impact in what I'm doing, and that impacts other people in a positive way.

[00:03:25] Nkem: But meanwhile, on top of and around and through all of this, I was always teaching writing somehow.

[00:03:31] Nkem: There was always something with education and words for me that was important. And then I worked in fashion again for a couple of months that also was short lived because there was something within me that was kind of asking for more attention.

[00:03:43] Nkem: Like I wanted to branch out and, I don't know. I wanted more. I just felt like I wanted more. So the things in my reality were kind of lining up with me wanting more. And so those jobs ended. And then I ended up moving to South Korea to teach English.

[00:03:55] Nkem: And then I moved to Abu Dhabi. in the UAE, and I was teaching writing [00:04:00] at a university there. So it's just still that the writing and the education really ramped up in my career at that time.

[00:04:07] Nkem: so when I left Abu Dhabi, the university, I decided, let me just completely focus on Wellspring Words. What's that's what that's doing and then find a way to come back to my own art as a writer, as an artist,

[00:04:18] Nkem: So I made that decision a few years ago, and I am on this exploratory free agent, creative entrepreneur lifestyle focused on like my passions and my loves. Oh,

[00:04:29] loree philip: good for you. Congratulations. It's so interesting because that was quite a journey.

[00:04:35] loree philip: And I think a lot of us listening can relate to wanting something more. And I'm curious if you differentiated between if that more was within purpose and meaning or within you love to grow and expand and learn and change, cause I know some of us are just I just love to [00:05:00] try new things, right?

[00:05:01] loree philip: Yeah. Did you, did you feel the difference between those two

[00:05:05] Nkem: it was, the more, okay, yeah, the way that I'm feeling it in my system right now, my body is kind of like, the more of wanting to try new things and grow and expand and change, that was certainly there, for sure, but I knew that I could satisfy that especially working at the university that I worked in, and the area that I was in, and the access that I had to different resources, including money, that was Like, I could get those things satisfied right away, traveling or taking some free courses or whatever.

[00:05:32] Nkem: But there was a deeper more, which is the one you talked about first, the Inner purpose and meaning. That was the one that was like, well, you can't really get that here right now because that you need to go on a journey to get that kind of purpose and meaning.

[00:05:47] Nkem: You need to explore it in a deeper way, a different way. Mm

[00:05:50] loree philip: hmm. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense there. There are so many opportunities typically within whatever we're doing to [00:06:00] grow to learn to change shift roles to take classes and it gets a little sticky when you get to that. Meaning and purpose and sometimes you can shift within what you're doing in a more purposeful way and sometimes you can't and so it just really depends on the situation.

[00:06:22] loree philip: What I'd really love to shift into our discussion is, I was thinking about, okay, for. Our listeners here who are working professional jobs and the demands of the day to day, we're busy with meetings, we're busy with projects, we lead teams, the to do list is like five pages long, it can be quite stressful.

[00:06:53] loree philip: Yeah. And yet we want to bring that creative aspect to our work. We want [00:07:00] to when a problem comes up, be able to step back and look at it in a more, expanded way. And so I'd love to talk with you a bit about how we can purposely shift our. Selves into this idea of flow state where, where things are just, you're in, and I think most people listening have heard of the idea of flow state of being in flow and when time just kind of passes, but you're very productive and everything kind of comes out quite easily.

[00:07:35] loree philip: Yeah.let's start with that. What, what is your sort of idea of what flow state means and then we can kind of shift into how we might be able to get there. Intentionally.

[00:07:47] Nkem: Yeah. And I appreciate the intentionality behind it, the purposefulness behind it, because I think that adds so much more power to it and allows for flow state to feel like it has, it, It is part of your life and not just [00:08:00] something you do once in a while when you need it.

[00:08:01] Nkem: No, it's something that's integrated. But for me, flow state is this feeling of being all of the things that you said, but it comes down to being in That that space of receptivity, um, that space of trust, like when you mentioned you, you, you can be in this state where time, it doesn't really exist and you're really productive, but everything's coming out easily.

[00:08:22] Nkem: Like it's, it's very. It's a state of trust. We trust what we're producing. We're trust that we're producing in a way that is aligned with how we're feeling, because if we take it. Compared to oftentimes in the workplace, the corporate setting, where we have a lot of responsibilities, especially if we are someone in leadership or someone who has who has who has many things on their plate or where as many hats or is tasked with responsibility and authority.

[00:08:50] Nkem: It makes us. turn our eyes outward. It makes us see life from what is around us as opposed to what's inside of us. But when we don't return back to ourself, [00:09:00] one, we lose that sense of balance between feeling like we're actually in this place and feel like harmonized and nourished and also being able to be in the external world.

[00:09:09] Nkem: But then we, we lose that connection to the self too. And it becomes more difficult to be in a flow state that lasts for longer periods of time, or that we don't even need to go in a flow state because it is our homeostasis, so that's kind of how I understand flow state.

[00:09:24] Nkem: The sense of trust, the sense of being able to give to the moment. Give the moment to yourself, essentially, and receive yourself in this moment, because from there, then you could do anything.

[00:09:35] Nkem: It can be something mental. You can be actually doing the work for your job that you do enjoy, but typically you don't enjoy it because of all of these pressures, external pressures. But how can you move into a space where, no, I can enjoy this work and I can actually develop myself through this work and grow, it really is about connecting with the self and trust and giving ourselves what we need in order to be feeling safe enough to create like that.

[00:09:59] loree philip: Yeah, [00:10:00] there, there's so much there in that definition because you weren't really deep. Usually we're kind of at surface level where you think about, okay, I was able to start this. Project and really I got into it and I was so productive and ideas just came out, flowed out of me and, when we talk about being intentional in bringing this in to our work, like you said, there's a lot of power that we can choose.

[00:10:31] loree philip: We don't have to get. Into the each time into the nitty gritty of mechanics of what's happening but it's powerful. If you can shift to make that shift, maybe that outward to inward shift. Right? What what I was thinking about too was beyond the stress and the things on our plate. A lot of the, where a lot of our energy is external, but also in our head around a lot of problems or issues or [00:11:00] thinking, and. And kind of letting that go a bit and so there is this resistance to let it go and start something fresh and I have too much I can't deal with this kind of. Thinking around it, right?

[00:11:13] loree philip: Let's let's talk a bit about, the benefits of being in flow state before we jump into the mechanics of it. Yeah. You mentioned kind of an, and I think I did too, but we were mentioning ease a bit creativity. Allowing yourself to sort of focus in and be productive from your experience working with your clients, what are other benefits of sort of shifting into this space that, that allows them to, be more productive?

[00:11:48] Nkem: Yeah, it's, there's a different kind of personal authority that you gain when you. When you tap into flow state, whether it's once in a while, or whether you have a regular practice, or you're living in flow [00:12:00] state there's a confidence that we have when we do certain things and we get validation or whatever, but there's an internal confidence that one develops when they are present in the flow state and.

[00:12:11] Nkem: That itself makes you more productive because you have that sense of alignment that I'm doing the right thing and then things just happen. I think sometimes we focus a little bit too much on what are the things that we can do to be productive rather than focusing on the back end of it, which is how do I align myself?

[00:12:26] Nkem: So I don't even need to worry about productivity. And that comes down to intention in the way that I see it, the way that I practice it. If I'm aligned in everything that I'm doing, and I remember that this is my, my deeper why, that's a deeper intention too. So I think we can all benefit from this. What is the why behind why I wake up in the morning to do the The things I'm doing, the way that I'm doing, because maybe we feel we're not in a place where, okay, I'm just going to take off and travel the world and find myself and do whatever I want, but we can still be at a place of, okay, I'm waking up with the intention to experience the truth of my [00:13:00] heart today and.

[00:13:01] Nkem: It may feel a little bit deep, but we're requiring that, especially as women, to be able to be in our depth and to be strong in our depth and then allow for that to filter through in our reality. But it's about, again, being safe and being in that sense of depth and tenderness and the sensitivity that we have as, as women, because it's your audience.

[00:13:19] Nkem: So that's why I'm saying that. Yeah.

[00:13:22] loree philip: Yeah. And it's, and whether you're a woman or a man, trust is so important and it's almost like when you allow yourself to sort of have that initial intention and my understanding too of connecting with your why and, thinking about, um, the importance of what you're doing and how meaningful that is to you.

[00:13:52] loree philip: With that beyond just aligning yourself with something that's important is it kind of opens you up and it removes those barriers [00:14:00] to stopping yourself to get something done. Right. And so, so when we go back to this idea of. What stress and, busyness and demands and rules and regulations and all the things we have to do in corporate, a lot of that is stopping us from the flow from, we're, we're second guessing ourselves.

[00:14:29] loree philip: And I think that's where the trust comes in is that, yeah. It's if you think about it in practicality, you start a project, for example, and you have a blank sheet of paper. If you start and then stop yourself and go, is that right? No, and then delete it and then start and then stop yourself and question it.

[00:14:48] loree philip: No, I don't even know. Maybe I'll go here and look at this instead of just seeing what comes out and keep. Putting stuff out building up on that out and then and then going back and seeing what you [00:15:00] have. It's a different experience. So as we move through and we talk about. What are the, we talked about the benefits of flow.

[00:15:11] loree philip: How can we start to intentionally shift ourselves into this state?

[00:15:17] Nkem: Yeah, I think it because you giving this example of being in the office and doing the creative, there's a creative work that we do in the office and there's a creative work that we do outside or even our creative projects. But before all that, I wanted to say that those who, if there is such a deep resistance to the work in the office, one, there's Needs to really consider.

[00:15:39] Nkem: Am I in the right line of work for myself if there is such a deep resistance because that is not where we want to be. We want to feel harmoniously aligned. That's where we want to feel. But I think our our working culture as a society has brainwashed us to feeling like you need to struggle. You need to try.

[00:15:57] Nkem: You need to do a lot of different crazy things to feel [00:16:00] successful. But we need to be able to understand what success is for ourselves. So that's a separate a separate Yeah. Note and coming back to your question of like, how, what do we do? What are the things that we can do to shift ourselves? I would recommend to have a ritual that lets that you're shifting from one state of being to another state of being and that allows for the intention to be imbued in whatever you're doing.

[00:16:24] Nkem: Because when you say, okay, I'm going to go to this, this. This state of being of being in flow state and I do my little ritual of stretching maybe a little bit of stretching. I'm just thinking about if you're in an office setting and you're sitting like in a cubicle or smaller space and you don't have all that space, do a little side stretching reach the arms up, just letting the energy flow a bit and some breathing.

[00:16:46] Nkem: And then I always recommend some writing just to shift the mind from what it's currently thinking that's creating our reality to. what it wants to be thinking. So again, bringing that intention into what we're doing and some [00:17:00] prompts that one could use to within this small ritual. What am I feeling now?

[00:17:04] Nkem: What would I like to feel? How do I want to create or how do I want to experience this? Creative process that way your mind is just there. It could be a couple of bullets or it can be longer, longer sentences or a longer narrative, whatever feels natural. And then you've already got the creative process going with a sense of creative authority there.

[00:17:25] Nkem: And then you can shift into whatever, whatever it is that you're doing. I think that helps because it brings in, holistically, the mind with the writing, with the thinking, the body, and the breath, and those three things together, you've really got a winning combination. So I would say to create a small ritual before moving into any creative process or practice, and include some elements from those three things, the mind, the body, and the breath.

[00:17:53] Nkem: Writing is a great one for the mind.

[00:17:55] loree philip: Do you recommend in writing, [00:18:00] handwriting with your physical body like that or taping? Or does it matter?

[00:18:05] Nkem: No, it matters. Handwriting is better for this kind of thing. I mean, if you, sometimes though, I will say that when I'm For instance, working on my novel, which I'm typing the whole thing, I may start a free writing to get into the space of flow for that project.

[00:18:22] Nkem: I may start free writing on the computer because then I'll already be on the computer as I'm doing it. But if I'm doing something that feels a little bit more embodied and I want to include like my full presence, then I won't include any screens and I'll just do it on a paper, pen, journal kind of thing.

[00:18:36] Nkem: And that really involves the whole body when you're doing that.

[00:18:40] loree philip: Yeah, I like this idea of routine and having it be very simple and quick because I think, most of the time where we can be so busy that we're just going from meeting to meeting to project to. Phone call and there [00:19:00] isn't a lot of transition time in between to kind of reset, regroup intentionally center back into, into productive state, to be honest, and, and, and let go of what I was thinking about over here.

[00:19:17] loree philip: Just shift. Yeah. Yeah. Could you go through those questions again? For the, for the writing piece? Yeah, sure. They

[00:19:25] loree-philip-nkem-chukwumerije_full_length nov 16,: were

[00:19:25] Nkem: really good. Yeah. The first one could be what, what am I feeling now? Or what's on my mind now? Just like a very getting present with what's, what's there and what would I like to be feeling?

[00:19:36] Nkem: How would I like to be feeling? What would I like to create or what would I love to create? Or how this is a what or how people can play around with it. How, how would I love to experience this creative process?

[00:19:48] loree philip: And that could be a couple of minutes, right? That doesn't have to be, we're not writing essays over here. We're trying to be practical,

[00:19:57] Nkem: practical. And like I mentioned earlier, [00:20:00] integrating this into your life. So it doesn't feel like it's a big burden. I mean, personally, I have taken on the lifestyle of living in a very spiritual way.

[00:20:08] Nkem: And so my practices are much longer because I'm developing something different. But I think when you're in an environment where All right. You don't have so much time, but you really want to use it wisely and connect to yourself. Give yourself like 10 minutes. 10 minutes is if we can't give ourselves 10 minutes, I'm going to get upset because we need to be able to give ourselves 10 minutes between demands to between responsibilities to be able to recenter.

[00:20:30] Nkem: That's no, that's no time at all.

[00:20:32] loree philip: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I honestly think even two minutes would make a difference. Yeah, I don't know that.

[00:20:42] Nkem: 10 minutes makes a better

[00:20:43] loree philip: difference. Yes. Yes. 10 minutes would be great. Take the time that you have. The point is to intentionally shift your focus.

[00:20:56] loree philip: To do some breathing, move your [00:21:00] body and then write, start getting into that flow through writing a bit, uh, getting out of your head and deciding how you want to create or and, and I'm, we're using the word create, but what we're really talking about is anything that you're working on that needs you to be In a, either creative problem solving, strategic thinking, writing there's so, there's so many things under that bucket that is different.

[00:21:36] loree philip: Yeah. That requires a shift from being say in a meeting and leading a conversation and, and going back and forth can be difficult and one of the things that comes up a lot for anybody in a professional corporate job is that you end up having both. [00:22:00] You have to do, you have to attend all the meetings and you have a certain amount of Work that you're supposed to get done right and you get back and you're exhausted and you're like, oh I didn't get anything done on my to do list and that is the time to reset Yeah, and kind of let go of and refresh You know, go through the prompts and then start your, start working down your list.

[00:22:30] Nkem: Yeah, essentially, right? Giving us, giving ourselves that time. It's, it's interesting because the visual that I get, it's this summer, I was like that. And now I've completely shifted my mindset to be like, if you want to live a more easeful, peaceful life, you need to live a more easeful, peaceful life. It's not going to happen without you doing it without you taking those.

[00:22:53] Nkem: Pockets of time for yourself and infusing peace and ease into your life. It's not just going to happen. It really won't. [00:23:00] So I had to make those shifts. And I found that when it comes to the to do list piece, because as an entrepreneur, it's the same thing. There's a million to do lists for all different types of hats that you wear.

[00:23:11] Nkem: Taking those moments to just calm and settle down and just move with the intention of, I don't have to rush and I don't have to wait. I can be here right now. This, the timing is perfect. There's, I just ended up moving through the list with such ease because I trust what I'm doing rather than coming in with that sense of, Oh my gosh, I'm in a totally different mind space.

[00:23:31] Nkem: Like thinking about this person there, that is us. Not to get too deep, but just to give some other perspective projecting our energy out into places that are outside of us, which is why we don't feel centered because we've, we've projected our energy into that thing over there. That problem. My boss told me that I have to do this.

[00:23:46] Nkem: I have to check on this person's this. I hope they did this. Oh, my gosh. Did I bring the chicken out of the freezer? Like, all these

[00:23:54] loree philip: different things that I actually probably should take some chicken out.

[00:23:57] Nkem: There you go. That was [00:24:00] thank you. But to bring ourselves energetically back in this routine, this ritual is super helpful for that.

[00:24:06] Nkem: Yeah,

[00:24:07] loree philip: yeah, I, it's so relatable and, I was thinking about if you could, if you go through the, I'm curious to get your perspective on momentum because, if we, if we intentionally shift, we set ourselves up for success and purposely intend to be in flow and get stuff done.

[00:24:32] loree philip: And then we get started and we get going. And then all of a sudden things start getting done down that list. Right? In a more. I don't want to say easy, but in a more flow kind of way. Right. And some of that is the momentum you're going. Yeah. And you're not stopping. You're feeling

[00:24:51] Nkem: good about it.

[00:24:52] Nkem: Yeah. Yeah. No, I think, I think that's a, that's a good point to mention that you do kind of like gather momentum as you're working through things. [00:25:00] And you can change your pace at any point too, because. Sometimes you need to change your pace, but you know that you're in the flow of it. I think also being with a ritual before you start, it almost opens, and I'm speaking from this kind of more metaphysical perspective, it opens this portal to say, I am in this space doing this work.

[00:25:17] Nkem: And until I close this portal, the work is going to be done. No matter the pace, no matter the momentum, I'm here doing it. And then afterwards, you decide you're finished and you're finished.

[00:25:27] loree philip: Yeah. That's so interesting. I never thought about it that way. It helps.

[00:25:33] loree philip: Yeah, there, there is a bit of decision, right?

[00:25:37] loree philip: Like this. We actually have a lot of authority over ourselves when we really, we have conviction and we decide okay, right now. I know I've had a long day. I know I've been quite busy. I do have to get this done. I'm going to move into, a space for myself, take a few minutes for myself, [00:26:00] and then I'm going to make it happen.

[00:26:02] loree philip: Yeah, and that, that can be quite powerful for, for anybody. Once you decide and you just kind of go for it.

[00:26:12] Nkem: And, and the image is coming to me now that maybe you want to just do a couple crunches too, because it's, it's a little silly, but there's something about when I just do a quick hit of Pilates.

[00:26:22] Nkem: I feel like on top of the world. I have such a strong core. I'm ready to do it. If you're feeling it, why

[00:26:28] loree philip: not? It's interesting because I think it comes back to knowing yourself a bit to know what works for you. Yes, yes, absolutely. And so part of this might be recommendation for listeners to notice how they're feeling when they are in their best, most productive space.

[00:26:49] loree philip: What did they just do? What kind of environment are they in? Because. We can replicate that and make it more consistent [00:27:00] and then once we get good at the routines of it, you can just get yourself in quite quickly and, and shift purposefully into being productive and making things happen and being that rock star that you are.

[00:27:19] loree philip: Yeah,

[00:27:19] Nkem: absolutely. I fully

[00:27:20] loree philip: agree. That's great. We're going to start to wrap up this conversation today. Do you have any last words of wisdom, closing thoughts on this topic for our listeners today? What's coming up for you?

[00:27:36] Nkem: Thank you for the conversation, by the way, as well. It's been so lovely and I've learned so much.

[00:27:41] Nkem: I think. What's coming to me is that you're worth it. That's what I want to say to listeners. You're worth it. You're worth Having a life that feels easy and productive. You don't have to struggle to be productive You don't have to work yourself to the bone to finally one day say I'm [00:28:00] productive. I did it.

[00:28:00] Nkem: No, no, no It can come easily But it does require like you said that inner authority That power to just say, Hey, I deserve this. I'm, I'm worth an easy life. I'm worth being good at my job and doing it well and having this natural challenge that helps me grow. So yes, that's what I would leave it with.

[00:28:20] loree philip: Yes.

[00:28:21] loree philip: I, you are worth it. I, that is such an important message. And I just will share before we close out what came up for me when you said is that there. Just something for us all to notice, there is a really deep belief for a lot of people around work has to be hard. And that in order to be successful, I have to work hard.

[00:28:47] loree philip: And so if, if that feels true for you, for, for people that are listening, I would recommend starting to kind of poke some holes at it. Is that true? Is that true for everyone?[00:29:00] Could it be possible for me to have, to be successful and have more ease and flow and productivity without quote, having it to be so hard and what, what could that look like?

[00:29:15] loree philip: Because I know that that's come up quite a bit in conversations that I've had with people and also for myself, because it's like work hard, play hard, kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. And, and it. There's so much of our lives that are created based on our beliefs. And so if you really feel like you have to work hard to be successful, you will work yourself to the bone.

[00:29:40] loree philip: And to go back to your beautiful wisdom and Kim, it's You are worth it. You are worth exploring, um, all of the avenues it will take to make your life something that is beautiful, that is easier, that you [00:30:00] love, and it's just one step at a time. Yes.

[00:30:05] Nkem: Well said.

[00:30:06] loree philip: Thank you. If you could share with us, where can we find more about you, your work, and connect with you?

[00:30:14] Nkem: Yes, sure. Thank you. You can find me on Instagram at NaturallyFree123. That's my personal page. And my business, Wellspring Words, this writing platform, writing studio, is Wellspring Words on Instagram and WellspringWords. love. And also I should mention that I'm teaching creative embodiment sessions or holding space for creative embodiment.

[00:30:38] Nkem: Energy healing sessions on a platform called a via. So I can also send you the link for that to include if, if you'd like to share it with your, your audience.

[00:30:48] loree philip: Yeah, that'd be great. That'd be really great. Thank you so much for your time, your wisdom and your energy. I felt quite peaceful in our conversation and I know you had a peaceful morning.[00:31:00]

[00:31:00] loree philip: So it came

[00:31:00] Nkem: through. Thank you so much, Lori. Such a pleasure.

[00:31:04] loree philip: Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you've enjoyed it, I would love for you to subscribe. If you're already a subscriber, don't forget to share the podcast with a friend. Hope you all have an amazing week. Until next time. Bye.