Flow States
What are they and how do you get them?
I just finished an interesting book called “The Rise of Superman” by Steven Kotler. It examines the science behind what are known as flow states. The book uses extreme athletes as the case studies for how attaining and manipulating the flow state enables these athletes to do things that seem impossible.
Overall this is a worthwhile read – as most New York Times Best Sellers are.
What is flow? Flow is a mental and physical state that humans can access that allows them to do amazing things. It has been known throughout the existence of humans as an elusive superpower that somehow kicks in during times of high stress, or high achievement or danger.
You have heard of flow. Think through a historical litany of any amazing athletic, artistic or any field’s top performance and you have found flow. You may have felt flow yourself. I know I have. It is those times when you are ‘in the zone’ and everything just works. You don’t have to think about what you’re doing, it just happens perfectly and you transcend the activity.
I’ll give you three examples from my world. The first, of course, is in running. As a runner I have had times in races, or even in training when I get what we might call “the runner’s high”. I’ll be running along working hard and I’ll get the sensation that I’m outside my body – I’ll transcend the effort.
When I have entered flow it is typically when I am under some physical duress, but have trained well. My preparedness and my effort bring on the flow state. Time slows down and I am outside my body. I am looking down at my legs and they are racing but I am just a rider and there is some other mechanism at work. It is a wonderful and glorious thing.
I’m not sure I’d describe it as feeling like superman but it’s definitely a positive trip. I might describe it as feeling indestructible or bulletproof. Similar to how I’ve heard people describe a cocaine high – but we’ll get to that in a moment.
The second example I’ll give you is when I’m doing some creative work like writing, typically under a deadline. I’ll be working with some heightened urgency and the words or ideas will just start to flow as if I’m not even involved in the process, as if I’m just the channel through which they flow.
People report this flow state as ‘the voice’. Again it’s as if they are not under their own will, they are being guided by some hidden hand or influence. This state of flow causes people to talk of God, and higher powers and universal masterminds. Some great pool of knowledge and inspiration that they somehow channel when a switch is thrown.
The final example is when I’m up in front of an audience giving a presentation and everything just synchs. The audience and I meld into one common experience and it becomes a mutual rapture of sorts.
This is an example of ‘group flow’. I found this example really interesting for its impact on management science. How if you can trigger a group flow an organization can become a creative powerhouse. For example think of those startup stories where the core team got lost in a group experience of pizza and coding to produce an amazing product. Or in a simpler example how an accomplished jazz ensemble creates synchronicity.
If you live long enough you are bound to experience flow states. I feel sorry for you if you have not. People who are in flow report a feeling of peace, of transcendence and a sense of time dilation. When you get into a flow state “time slows down”, or “time stands still”.
The author uses extreme sports to illustrate flow states. This makes sense because we are all familiar with the craziness of extreme sports. We watch these young people and think “how the hell are they doing that?”
Maybe you’ve seen those videos on social media of mountain bikers, skate-boarders, skiers, surfers, snow-boarders, etc? The ones that are hard to watch because they make you queasy and send fear rushes into your head. Like some dude riding down the side of a mountain at 60 mph jumping off cliffs and doing tricks where if he misses his line by an inch he’ll plunge into a gorge or splat like a ripe grape into the rocks?
Those dudes are in a flow state. There is no way you could do that stuff without the advantage of flow.
Up until now the flow state was talked about, written about, and known about but there wasn’t a whole lot of science behind it. Recently they’ve been able to use MRI scanning and modern science to figure out what’s going on inside your brain when you drop into flow.
I’m going to generalize a bit, but you can say that your brain has two systems. There’s the animal system that acts without thinking and there is the prefrontal cortex that makes rational decisions. The problem is that if you’re hurtling down a cliff face on a bike you really don’t have time to think through each decision. Conversely you don’t want your animal brain just making decisions based on fear and response.
You need a way to combine the best of both systems. That’s what flow does. It shuts down large parts of the prefrontal cortex and allows your lower level, in-RAM processes to take over. You don’t have to think about what you’re doing, you just do the right thing.
This is where the speed of decision making comes from. This is also where the ‘time dilation’ comes from. when you enter flow state the part of your brain that handles time comprehension shuts down and you get those ‘time stood still’ moments.
At the same time when you enter a flow state your body releases a large hit of pleasure chemicals into your brain. Remember I mentioned cocaine? It’s the same principal. Your body produces well-being and calming chemicals so that you can deal with the intensity of the flow state.
The ‘high’ is an actual chemical high produced by this powerful cocktail. Of course this is the same state of mind that gurus from the 60’s were chasing. The doors of perception generation thought that you could find transcendence through mind altering drugs. Think about Carlos Casteneda and his mushroom trips or Ken Keasy on the magic bus.
They were partly right. They were approximating the flow state. Their crucial misunderstanding was that they weren’t opening doors in the mind, but rather shutting down big chunks of their prefrontal cortex. This is also why there is a bit of a letdown or hangover when you come out of a flow state. Like the rock star who only really lives when they are on stage.
This can lead to people chasing the flow state to the detriment of their well being. As noted in the book, most extreme sports athletes don’t’ die of old age!
What can we learn from this? How do we get into a flow state and how do we use it?
Flow states are powerful for getting stuff done and excelling at your chosen art, craft or sport. They are open to the common person. Like anything else, flow states respond to practice and training. Unlike drugs getting into flow states gets easier and better the more you do it and carries over into your normal, non-flow life.
Meditation has been found to be a way to prepare the mind for flow states. If you think about it this makes perfect sense. When you meditate you calm and take control of the mind. You manipulate your consciousness and gain the tolls of focus.
Visualization is another tool to promote flow. Athletes have known this for ages. They visualize the event and the perfection of it. This removes the barrier of doubt when they get into the action and allows them to slip into flow.
Don’t think that this is some kind of magic. You can’t focus your mind, drop into flow and start playing like Michael Jordan unless you have the underlying skills and practice of Michael Jordan. The knowledge and existence of flow states doesn’t obviate the requirement for tens of thousands of hours of practice to gain proficiency.
This proficiency of your craft is what builds the ability to make correct and precise decisions without involving your prefrontal cortex. I can slip into flow at the end of a 20 mile race because I have put in the training and the time. I cannot ride my mountain bike down a cliff like those dudes on youtube because I don’t have the prerequisite burned in skills.
To summarize, flow states are not magic. They are a real physiological manifestation that any of us are capable of. Effective flow still requires proficiency at your sport, craft or art as the ante. But you can cultivate flow and use it.
Flow on my friends.