What Is Flow State and How Do You Create It Daily?

TL;DR

Flow is a state of order in consciousness that arises when you fully focus your body and mind to overcome a challenge that pushes you to the limit of your ability, yet one you choose voluntarily. It appears on the borderline between boredom and anxiety, requires clear goals, and is the closest thing we have to happiness.

Transcript

When do human beings feel happiest? More connected to life and its possibilities. And more capable of overcoming our challenges. The answer: when we flow. In his book Flow: The Psychology of Happiness, the legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explained that flow is not letting go or being dragged wherever life takes you. Although today, m... Read More

Key Insights

• Flow is a state of order in consciousness that arises when the body through movement and the mind through attention make their best effort to overcome a challenge that pushes us to the limit of our ability, yet one we choose voluntarily.
• Flow appears on the borderline between boredom and anxiety: challenges must be hard enough not to bore us but not so difficult they make us despair, and worthy of being overcome.
• During flow the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for the inner voice that makes us doubt, complain and criticize, deactivates, releasing mental energy so we act without hesitation.
• Brain waves shift during flow from high-frequency Beta waves of ordinary consciousness to the border between Alpha and Zeta, where Zeta normally only appears during REM sleep or the hypnagogic state before sleep.
• Clear goals are the only way to reach flow: when effort leads to a meaningful goal, the feedback we receive creates order in consciousness and strengthens the structure of the self.
• Passive narcotization like watching television or scrolling phones distracts from personal problems at low mental cost but produces no psychological growth or happiness, unlike the active enjoyment of flow.
• Lack of inner order produces entropy that installs us in ontological anguish, an existential dread where the mind, evaluating everything from insecurity, fixates on wounds, grudges and imagined misfortunes.
• The ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge is the most essential trait for survival and quality of life, since whether we see challenges as threats or opportunities determines who enjoys life.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is flow according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi?

Flow is a state of order in consciousness that arises when our body through its movement and our mind through attention make their best effort to overcome a challenge that pushes us to the limit of our ability but that we still decide to do voluntarily because we know it is worth it. Concentration becomes intensely focused, time seems to run differently, and an inner harmony leads us to connect with our existence more deeply. It is not passive disengagement from reality.

Q: How do you create a flow state in your day to day life?

The only way to achieve flow is to have clear goals. When you know your effort leads to a meaningful goal, the feedback you receive while executing a task of your choice creates order in consciousness. You must place yourself at the limit of your current ability, just at the point where you feel positively challenged, between boredom and anxiety. The goal does not have to be lofty; as long as it provides clear rules of action and a meaningful path, any goal can create flow.

Q: What happens in the brain during a flow state?

During flow the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area that seems responsible for the voice in the head that makes us doubt, complain and criticize bitterly, is deactivated. Questioning and hesitation disappear, releasing mental energy that helps us act without hesitation. Brain waves also change: in ordinary consciousness the brain operates in higher-frequency Beta waves, but in flow the waves locate on the border between Alpha and Zeta, the latter normally appearing only during REM sleep or just before falling asleep.

Q: Why does flow occur between boredom and anxiety?

Flow appears right on the borderline between boredom and anxiety, when we face challenges that are not so difficult as to make us despair, nor so easy as to make us astounded, and which for us are worthy of being overcome. If a task is too easy it produces boredom and disinterest; if it is completely out of our current skill set it is unreasonable and produces anxiety. Flow requires placing ourselves at the limit of our current ability using skills we already possess.

Q: What is the difference between flow and passive relaxation?

Contrary to what we often say, the best moments in our lives are not the passive, relaxing moments, although those can be enjoyable if we have worked hard to achieve them. The best moments usually occur when a person goes all out to achieve something difficult and worthwhile. Activities like watching television or scrolling on phones provide easy narcotization at zero mental effort but produce no psychological growth or happiness. True enjoyment is the active state of flow.

Q: How does the guitar example illustrate flow?

For someone whose goal is to become the best guitarist they can be, that goal is meaningful, so they know what comes next. Flow arises when they are immersed in playing and forced to push their current abilities to the limit. Playing chords they already know repetitively produces boredom, while trying songs completely out of their skill set is unreasonable. The guitarist must place himself just at the point where he feels positively challenged, letting mind and body be fully immersed. Because the energy is aligned with his purpose, he flows.

Q: How does flow help us deal with adversity?

According to the author, flow develops greater strength and courage. Order in consciousness facilitates greater control of feelings and thoughts, awakening our ability to persevere despite obstacles and setbacks. No trait is more useful, more essential for survival, or more likely to improve quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge. The integrity of the self depends on the ability to take natural or destructive events and turn them into positive ones, seeing challenges as opportunities rather than threats.

Q: Why does Csikszentmihalyi say flow is the closest thing to happiness?

Flow is not something that happens, it is something we make happen, a sense of mastery conquered by our well-directed will. An overwhelming proportion of optimal experiences occur when performing activities directed toward a clear goal that requires large amounts of attention and the use of necessary skills. This is the paradox of flow: when we strive to be good at something we consider meaningful, life flows effortlessly. That sense of mastery is, according to Csikszentmihalyi, the closest thing we have to that hard-to-define thing called happiness.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• In his book Flow: The Psychology of Happiness, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defined flow not as passive disengagement but as a state of order in consciousness that arises when body and mind make their best effort to overcome a voluntarily chosen challenge that pushes us to the limit of our ability.

• During flow the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex deactivates, silencing self-doubt and criticism, while brain waves move from Beta to the border of Alpha and Zeta. Concentration intensifies, time runs differently, problem-solving becomes automatic, creativity flows, risk-taking increases, and performance reaches its peak.

• Flow requires clear goals that give meaningful rules of action, and appears between boredom and anxiety. It is not something that happens but something we make happen through well-directed will, developing courage and being, according to the author, the closest thing we have to happiness.