Defining Flow: Our Optimal State Of Being
Understanding the art of full absorption
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In the zone.
We’ve all been there at some point.
That seemingly elusive state where time falls away and we become totally absorbed in our present experience.
Where our awareness merges with our action.
Where work feels effortless and our performance elevates to new levels.
It’s the state of mind that allows many of the world’s greatest artists, athletes and creative minds to do what they do best.
It’s known as flow state.
In the previous post I shared the difference between mindfulness and flow state.
Today, let’s dive into what flow state actually is.
WTF IS FLOW?
The term ‘flow state’ was first popularised by the Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi while studying positive psychology in the 70’s – specifically how people find and pursue happiness.
Csikszentmihalyi defined flow as: “Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved”.
Flow state experiences are characterised by
total absorption in the present moment
merging between awareness and action
freedom from self-consciousness
a sense of timelessness
heightened creativity
feeling of mastery
Neurologically, it’s an altered state of consciousness.
And, as you can probably tell, it’s the optimal state of consciousness to be in if we want to express our full creative potential.
Getting there ain’t easy though.
Against the backdrop of our stressed out, plugged in, always on, semi exhausted, deeply distracted, cortisol fuelled modern day lives, it can take years of dedicated practice and relentless focus to find our way to this space of calm, composed, effortless creativity.
FLOW STATE IS A CYCLE
One of the most important things to understand about flow state is that it isn’t an “on/off” state.
You’re not just suddenly “in flow”.
It’s a process - a four stage process - and it almost always begins with struggle and resistance.
The struggle stage is the loading phase of flow.
It’s when you first start a task, and the neurochemistry involved – primarily cortisol and adrenaline - makes you squirm.
This discomfort causes us to want to avoid the task and distract ourselves.
And the unfortunate truth is that, because of this, most people remain stuck in the struggle phase, forever only scratching the surface of their potential.
In the next post, I’ll breakdown the four stages of the flow cycle, and how we can use tools like our breath to help us break through the struggle phase and learn to access flow state on demand.
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In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about Flow from one of the world’s leading voices on flow, check out this short video from flow state expert, Steven Kotler.