1: Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s believed he discovered the “secret to happiness.”
He labeled it “the flow state.” It’s when we are completely absorbed in an activity. Also known as being “in the zone,” we lose our sense of time. Our actions and awareness become one in which we have a heightened sense of control.
We enter the flow state through as part of a four-step process. So far this week, we’ve explored the first two stages: struggle and release.
Flow is stage three. Once we’re in flow, our goal is to stay there.
2: How do we maximize the time in a flow experience?
“Once in the zone,” Steven Kotler writes in his powerful book The Art of Impossible, “the easiest way to stay there is to avoid the four dreaded ‘flow blockers,’ or the fastest way to get kicked out of the zone.”
Flow blocker #1: Distraction. “Interruptions are the number one reason people get knocked out of flow,” Steven notes. “And once out, it’s hard to get back in. In studies run on computer coders, researchers discovered that once kicked out of the zone, it takes a minimum of fifteen minutes to get back in—that is, if you can return at all.”
What do we do? Turn off anything that might interrupt flow: Our phones. All notifications. Anything that could distract us.
Flow blocker #2: Negative Thinking: A good mood is a requirement for creativity, Steven tells us. “Flow is a highly creative state, where the brain is hunting these very associations. The minute you start thinking negatively, you lose this ability.”
Flow blocker #3: Nonoptimal Arousal: Moving through stage one of the flow cycle, struggle requires energy. We must fight. We must persevere. “The same thing holds true once in flow,” he shares. If we “don’t have the energy to sustain that fight, we’ll succumb to fatigue and won’t get to play in the zone for long.”
Which is why nutrition, active recovery, sleep, and regular exercise really matter. Because these are the drivers that give us the necessary energy to get into and stay in flow.
Flow blocker #4: Lack of Preparation: “This could mean physical or mental preparation,” Steven warns. “In either case, if we haven’t automatized key skills and abilities, we can’t get into flow. . . My suggestion: when learning anything, surround the problem. Come at it from every angle, so there are no weak links in our game. In short, master mastery.”
3: How do we amplify the flow state once we are there?
“What’s better than flow?” Steven asks. “More flow. Longer-lasting experiences. Deeper flow states.”
How do we do this? We trigger dopamine and norepinephrine, two powerful brain neurochemicals, by increasing the challenge level just a bit. We introduce more novelty, complexity, and unpredictability into our actions.
And, we layer in a little more risk.
“Yes, risk,” Steven writes. “In flow, when we’re already performing at our best, we can really lean on ‘high consequences’ to drive us deeper into a state.
“For example, if we’re giving a speech (an activity packed with flow triggers and one that often tends to produce the state), occasionally coming off script and improvising for a minute or two is a fantastic way to deepen that state (and, by extension, improve the quality of that speech).”
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: How much time do I spend “in the zone”? Do I want more flow in my life?
Action: Experiment with the four-stage flow cycle.
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