How to enter ‘flow state’ on command | Steven Kotler for Big Think

Peak performance mind hack explained in 7 minutes.

Flow is described as a state of 'effortless effort,' where we feel like we're propelled through an activity, and everything else seems to disappear.

More specifically, flow refers to any moments of rapt attention and total absorption. You're so focused on the task at hand that everything else seems to disappear.

Researchers have discovered 22 catalysts that can help you prepare your environment and quickly drop into a flow state. A few of these include distraction management, dopamine triggering, and concentration.

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About Steven Kotler:
Steven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective. He is one of the world’s leading experts on human performance. He is the author of ten bestsellers (out of thirteen books total), including The Art of Impossible, The Future Is Faster Than You Think, Stealing Fire, The Rise of Superman, Bold and Abundance. His work has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, translated into over 40 languages, and appeared in over 100 publications, including the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, TIME and the Harvard Business Review. Steven is also the cohost of Flow Research Collective Radio, a top ten iTunes science podcast. Along with his wife, author Joy Nicholson, he is the cofounder of the Rancho de Chihuahua, a hospice and special needs dog sanctuary.

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Read more of our stories on flow:
Why does experiencing “flow” feel so good? A communication scientist explains
Want to feel like Superman? Steven Kotler explains how to enter the ‘flow state’
How Pete Holmes creates comedic flow: Try micro-visualization

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[ApAcVideoWatcher]

Ah, you mean that sweet place back in the day when doing expert level Guitar Hero and you have to sort of zone out and not pay explicit attention so that your conscience thought doesn't get in the way of your hand eye coordination doing its thing... Apologies. I couldn't help myself. The difference in score between flow and non-flow on certain songs was just so extreme that it's the most generic thing that immediately comes to mind for me. Probably one of the more enjoyable, too. Outside of actual instrument playing and dancing, or most creative arts now that I'm thinking on it. The Guitar Hero still makes me grin though, so I'm sticking with it. 😂🦋

[MadDannyWest]

Been paying attention to this guy for close to ten years, when I first saw him talking he was basically like "we know flow exists but we don't know exactly what causes it, " glad to know he found answers.

[lunawang]

All you need is an essay due in 2 hours and you can get into flow immediately.

[ilikevegetables]

Triggers
1. Novelty
2. Concentration
3. Unpredictability
4. Awe
5. Complexity

Motivators
1. Curiosity
2. Passion
3. Purpose
4. Autonomy
5. Mastery

[Cryogenics]

I think this flow state is the best state of mind there is. I remember vividly experiencing it during long math problem sets in college. Things just start clicking and I become one with activity itself. It's incredible.

[johndoe]

6:45 - "Motivation is what gets us into the game. Learning allows us to continue to play. Creativity is how we steer. And Flow is how we amplify the result beyond all reasonable expectation." - Steven Kotler

[devinbeverage]

“Flow actually *feels* flowy.”

Every day let us be grateful for the wealth of free information that is at our fingertips

[bhavyasingh]

"Motivation is what gets us into the game.
Learning allows us to continue to play.
Creativity is how we steer.
And flow, which is optimal performance, is how we amplify all the results, beyond all reasonable expectations."

Golden lines 💛

[arpitkumar]

Summary of how to get into flow
1. Being just outside your comfort zone
2. Novelty/Unpredictability
3. Complexity/Depth
4. Purpose
5. Curiosity/Passion

[joshuagubler]

5 intrinsic motivators in order:
- Curiosity ( focus for free)
- Passion
- Purpose
- Autonomy (freedom to pursue purpose)
- Mastery (skills to pursue purpose well)

[bluezebra]

Living with chronic illness is like this.
I had awful pain and cfs for 10 years. Then it went into remission randomly (which is rare). I was super human, didnt need much sleep, didn't stress about anything, pain didn't bother me, i could do anything i needed my body to do.

Then 2 years later i caught covid and everything came back.

[artisfood]

this is the key to awakening to reality. I have often spoken about flow but you have put together the elements so very well

[PadeMoro]

I think the flow state is a pretty good indicator for what you should do in life. If you're unsure about what you want to do with your life, think back to the times when you experienced the flow state. Those are probably the kinds of things you should focus on in your life. Like the video said - the flow state and happiness seem to correlate in peoples lives.

[zorro]

Flow = relaxed but in control = less thinking, more doing = dancing/ skateboarding/ capoeira/ playing instruments/ martial arts/ chi gong/ juggling all my favourites.
Imagining you are already an expert at whatever it is you’re doing will put u straight into flow!!
We are all connected, so use the connection!!

[julielevesque]

Thank you for this. I found "Flow" when I downhill mountain bike...I usually have to manage anxiety daily but when I ride...wow...everything just makes sense and I like that I feel in control even though the terrain and the activity would make most people feel "out of control or in fear". Moving meditation.

[louderthangod]

As a musician, one of my flow triggers is the opposite of full attention. I know this happens for a lot of song-writers. Playing guitar for example while watching guitar. I’m paying no attention to the guitar just letting my fingers move often in common patterns for 20 or minutes but then something often catches my ear so I pay a little bit of attention and then more and more when I find something novel and interesting. The key for me is then going into my studio to then work it out and devote my full focus with no distractions.
I also play a lot of improvised music and for that I call it playing the emotion. So I’ll start out very conventionally playing in tired old patterns but I’m focusing on my own emotions at the time. Am I in a good mood, frustrated, upset, depressed, annoyed whatever and I stop thinking and let my ear find resonance with those emotions. Almost like tuning a string to an emotion instead of say A440Hz. When I’ve locked that in I focus on the other musicians and see where I fit in with that. Sometimes the order gets flipped and I’m instantly responding to them but because these pieces are 20-45 minutes long the emotions also flow and evolve. It’s the most amazing feeling and I really love the output nearly every time and when I don’t it’s because I’m stuck in my own head and not flowing. I get focused on playing something cool I did the other day and that messes it all up…recapturing past magic is a recipe for improvised disaster.

My day job is as a high school AP Bio teacher and I’ve built my lesson plans around this. I still have real world issues like the bell and curriculum I have to cover and fire alarms and all the normal stuff but my classes go much better when I only have a rough outline of what I need to cover but my analogies and stories are different for each class which gets them more engaged and keeps my own brain from melting because I’m usually teaching the same lesson five times a day which my ADHD self does not like that type of repetition.

I do think here is a connection between ADHD and at least artistic flow states. We crave novelty and most of us seem to go from over thinking to absolutely no thinking and all instinct driven or even disassociation pretty easily.

[efloof]

I can force a state of flow through a little routine. Eat nothing and drink little coffee then meditate (15) any meditation, then second half meditation (15) visualizing what you’re goin to do, visualize every feeling every thought you have while at it, relive your past experiences with that thing you’re trying to get into the flow state with. Every single sensation.

I discovered this when I had procrastinated so bad on my school and had a day to finish everything.

[ZackWilliams_TheProducer]

I go into flow states when I'm producing music. I'm not gonna act like I'm at an amazing level yet, but in these flow states I find myself discovering techniques, or laying down a nice melody or sequence of chords I have NO IDEA how I came up with, It's like an intelligent force takes over me and just works through me. I've been in the state for 15 hours straight, it allows me to focus for a ridiculous long amount of time, sometimes without eating or sleeping, and I feel dopamine surging through me the whole time. And I barely stop for even moment to think or consider what I'm doing next, it's just a steady and rapid flow of action, bang bang bang bang bang. As if browsing through massive sound libraries, choosing sounds, manipulating audio, tweaking parameters, drawing midi, automating tracks, sound design, as if all that is just a mindless and natural process like say having sex. Now I try to find balance and be careful with this state, because it has actually left me pretty out of whack mentally and physically when the reality that I haven't slept in 2 days and have eaten nothing but a small snack hits me and I have to go to WORK lol (where I'm definitely not experiencing flow state). Anyway I've sworn off alcohol and drugs when I realized that getting high is a natural phenomenon and a high that makes you incredibly creative, efficient, and productive?? Yes I'll take that instead, thanks.

[TonyHammitt]

For me, listening to music is almost essential to get into a flow. It's hard to concentrate when surprising noises happen. Listening to sounds where you know what's coming next, especially if it can drown out the environmental noise, is very helpful for focus. A productive day is one where I got to listen to music.

[madeofcastiron]

after this video, i realized that i have actually been into flow more times than i thought. i'm a programmer, and when i already got the idea and flow down, i can code for 5 hours straight until my alarm for lunch rings. i love those moments because it makes the work day go by faster.