1: We come home from work tired. We’ve struggled to solve a problem. We decide to take a shower. To wash away all our frustrations.
Standing there, we feel the water beating against our bodies. We relax. Our mind wanders.
Boom. An idea hits us like a flash of lightning.
What just happened? We’ve moved through three of the four stages of the flow cycle: from “struggle” to “release” and then “flow.”
It always starts with struggle. That’s what the research tells us, Steven Kotler writes in his terrific book The Art of Impossible.
Struggle is step one of the four-part flow process.
“For most people, frustration is a sign that we’re moving in the wrong direction, that it’s time to stop, rethink, and regroup,”
But, no. The frustration we feel is actually a sign we are moving in the right direction. We are in step one of the flow cycle. We resist the temptation to quit. We embrace the struggle and keep moving forward.
Because, in time, struggle gives way to the second stage of the cycle: Release.
“During struggle, the prefrontal cortex is hyperactive,” Steven writes. “It’s working feverishly to solve a problem. . .
“In release, we want to relax and let go. The goal is to take our mind off the problem,” he notes.
“Release is an incubation period. It’s about allowing the brain’s pattern recognition system to chew on the problem for a while—while we do other things.”
2: What types of activities are best to enter the release phase?
“The research shows that low-grade physical activity works best,” Steven notes. “Go for a long car drive. Build model airplanes. Work in the garden. Play guitar.”
Steven likes to draw, hike, or read.
“Albert Einstein famously liked to sail a boat into the middle of Lake Geneva,” he notes. “Unfortunately, Einstein couldn’t swim and wasn’t much of a sailor. As the area is prone to freak storms, he was regularly rescued from the middle of that lake.”
However, sailing was such an essential part of Albert’s process that he chose to risk his life in the middle of Lake Geneva.
Steven provides three helpful guidelines for the release phase.
First, we don’t want to overtax ourselves during release. “The stage requires taking our minds off the problem for now, but we’ll need energy to dive back in later on,” he suggests. “If we do exhaust ourselves—with a hard workout, for example—we’ll need to eat and sleep before restarting.”
Second, TV doesn’t work. Watching television engages our brains and does not lead to release.
Third, the release stage will vary depending on what we are doing.
“When engaged in a long struggle phase—like trying to write a book or start a company or learn the ins and outs of probability theory—following a hard work session with a release activity makes sense,” Steven observes.
But what about those activities when the struggle arrives in an instant—when we’re “out for a mountain bike ride and suddenly the trail gets steep and dangerous—how do we move from struggle to release?”
Same approach, different time frame, Steven tells us. We “need need to trigger that fight response to enter flow, so move into attack mode. Expend the effort. Push through the brain’s desire to conserve energy.”
Then, relax.
3: One example of how to use the release phase is called the MacGyver method, named after the 1980s television show of the same name.
Lee Zlotoff, the show’s creator, developed a process to generate creative breakthroughs on demand. Here’s how it works:
Step One: Problem Identification.
“Write down our problem. Literally. Speaking it aloud won’t work,” Steven suggests. “Writing, because of the relationship between tactile experience and memory, is key. Also, be as detailed as possible.”
Steven shares an example: “Let’s say that tomorrow I’m starting a new chapter in a book but I’m stumped as to where to begin. I’d simply write: ‘Tomorrow, I want to write a new chapter that’s funny, engaging, ends with a cliffhanger, has something to do with blue whales and Mother Teresa.'”
The key is to include as much detail as possible. But do not worry about connecting the details. “If I’m clear about my goals, the rest takes place automatically, as part of step two,” he writes.
Step Two: Incubation.
Step away from the problem for a little while. After we get the hang of this, one to four hours will do the trick,” Steven recommends. “But in the beginning, aim for a half-day or so (or sleep on the problem overnight). During this period, do something stimulating but not taxing.”
MacGwyver creator Lee used to build model airplanes. “Gardening, house cleaning, and shooting basketballs all work fine. Long walks as well,” Steven notes.
Step Three: Free Writing
“After those hours have passed, sit back down at our notepad and start writing again,” Steven suggests. “It doesn’t matter what. Copy passages out of our favorite book, pen song lyrics, do haiku. After a short delay—usually no more than a few minutes—the answers to our problem will start trickling out.
“In the case of my earlier example, I would simply start with: ‘I’m now trying to write my next chapter, but I don’t really know what it’s about.’
“It sounds simple,” he writes, “but the results can be stunning. We’ll find ourselves solving creative problems with far more speed and efficiency than normal.”
However, the biggest win from using the MacGyver Method process is emotional.
“I never have to worry about a problem,” Lee says. “If I get stuck, I know my subconscious can come up with answers my conscious mind literally can’t dream of, and in far shorter time frames. It’s totally removed anxiety from my writing process.”
More tomorrow.
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Reflection: What’s a tricky problem I’m working on right now?
Action: Experiment with using “the MacGyver Method.”
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