«Flow» enables absolute peak performance. But what is it exactly and how do you reach this state of consciousness, which is considered to be optimal? FITBOOK spoke to one of the world’s leading flow experts, Steven Kotler.
In the early 1990s, Steven Kotler, as a journalist specializing in action sports (e.g. surfing, climbing, skiing, snowboarding), caught the attention of something that years later would become his business and make him one of the world’s leading experts should do. He followed extreme athletes in the mountains and the ocean for about a decade and found that if you’re not a professional at your field, you’ll break yourself (Kotler’s injury list is impressive – fractures and hairline fractures in almost every limb, concussions, …). And every time he’s recovered from an injury and returned to reporting, he’s been blown away by the progress athletes have made over that period.
Kotler cites surfing as an example: Until the 1960s, it was considered physically impossible to paddle and surf a wave more than 25 feet high (about 7.6 meters). A few decades later, surfers routinely manage 18 or even 20 meter waves. The current world record is 24.38 meters. The journalist observed this development not only in surfing, but in all action sports. This and another factor captivated him: Many of the athletes who suddenly made the seemingly impossible possible did not come from privileged backgrounds. Not the best foundations for exceptional performance. Kotler really wanted to understand how this works.
Steven Kotler, flow expertPhoto: Steven Kotler
The flow expert
Steven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist. With his books (including «Stealing Fire», «Tomorrowland», «The Rise of Superman», «Bold») he celebrated worldwide success. Kotler is one of the leading experts in the field of research into human performance. Tesla boss Elon Musk is being advised by him. And Google relies on its analytics. He is director of the Flow Research Collective, a research and training institute for excellence. Based on neuroscience, the state of flow is explored here and people are trained to use the power of flow so that they can achieve more, faster.
What is the key to exceptional performance?
What does it take to do the impossible? This question has been the focus of Steven Kotler’s work for 25 years. The so-called flow state has emerged as the key to extraordinary achievements – whether in sports or other creative areas. Flow is a scientific term meaning “the source code of ultimate human performance”. It is the optimal state of consciousness in which we feel our best and perform at our best. Runners may know flow by another name: runner’s high. Creative minds sometimes find themselves “in the tunnel”.
Flow research goes back to the 19th century, and the Hungarian happiness researcher Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who developed it in 1975, is considered the creator of flow theory. Based on studies, Csíkszentmihályi defined the six characteristics of the flow state as:
- Complete concentration (on a limited field)
- Fusion of action and consciousness
- Loss of self (awareness)
- expansion of time
- a sense of control
- «autotelic» experience (easelessness)
Performance optimization through flow – expert explains it
In the exclusive FITBOOK interview, Steven Kotler talks about, among other things, how to achieve this state of flow and use strategies from world-class athletes and top managers to increase your own performance.
FITBOOK: Mr. Kotler, what do you think is the difference between top athletes who are among the best in their discipline and those who achieve seemingly impossible feats and break records?
Steven Kotler: “What I can say is that every area of ultimate human achievement bears the exact same signature. It is a state of consciousness known in research as flow. It may be known by other names: you can call it ‘runner’s high’ or ‘being in the zone’. Flow is the technical term. As mentioned earlier, it is technically defined as the optimal state of consciousness. Where we feel best and do our best. In particular, it refers to those moments of highest attention and complete absorption. We become so focused on the task at hand that everything else just disappears. Action and consciousness merge. Self-awareness will disappear. Time stretches and all aspects of the performance, both mental and physical, go through the roof.”
The neuroscience behind the flow state
What exactly happens there, which neurophysical processes take place in the flow status?
“The brain produces a vast cascade of neurochemistry: norepinephrine, dopamine, anandamide, serotonin, and endorphins. All five are performance-enhancing neurochemicals. They make you faster and stronger – and do the same to your brain. In the flow state, you take in more information and process it more deeply, that is, with more parts of the brain. There is some debate about this, but it seems that the information is processed more quickly. When people enter a flow state, they speak of feeling that their senses are incredibly heightened. This is due to the performance enhancing aspect of norepinephrine and dopamine.”
What exactly makes these messenger substances so important?
“What makes these five neurotransmitters really useful is how they affect motivation, creativity and learning. Aside from being performance-enhancing chemicals, they’re obviously all ‘feel good’ drugs. Norepinephrine, dopamine, anandamide, serotonin and endorphins are the most potent ‘feel good drugs’ the brain can produce. As a result, flow is considered the most addictive state in the world.”
And that makes you efficient?
“We now know that in athletics, for example, just about every gold medal and world title that has ever been won has been achieved in flow status. And flow is universal, it shows up in everyone and everywhere – as long as certain initial conditions are met.”
Which trigger or triggers lead to the flow?
What does it take to reach flow status? And how do top athletes consistently achieve it?
«While we know 17 triggers that help us get into the flow, only a few are really necessary for competitive athletes to achieve this wonderful state on a regular basis. For example, there is the so-called ‘rich environment’ (eng.: rich environment), a combination of novelty, unpredictability and complexity. If you are a runner, instead of following a known route, you could run different off-road trails. There your mind will be bombarded by new sights and sounds and you will be aware of many possible dangers. Risk is a great flow trigger.”
What other triggers for Flow are there?
“Other triggers are clear goals, immediate feedback (e.g. about your speed, pace or heartbeat) and the so-called challenge-skill ratio. The latter denotes the midpoint between boredom and anxiety, which scientists call the flow channel. To stay in this channel, we recommend making the workout about 4 percent harder each day — e.g. For example, you can run faster or further, cycle up a steeper hill, or ski down more challenging slopes. That’s the sweet spot (the point at which something reaches its optimal effect, editor’s note). Do not increase more than 4 percent as this will result in a drop in performance. By the way, having clear goals does not mean dreaming of a future marathon run. You have to break down your sport into tiny parts – e.g. B. ‘I’ll run to the nearest telephone pole’ and do so immediately.”
What else can help to get into the flow?
«The ultimate trigger is what we call ‘deep embodiment’ (engl.: deep embodiment/perception) describe. A type of full-body awareness where you are aware of all your senses, including balance and position in space. Activities like Zen walking meditation instill multi-sensory awareness, while yoga, tai chi, and martial arts can help connect that awareness with balance skills. The goal is to do athletic things that allow you to get in and stay in the flow almost at will.”
Can it be scientifically proven that someone is in the flow while accomplishing extraordinary things?
“The research of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and several other scientists uncovered ten core features that underpin the flow status. Each of these phenomena can be experienced independently. When they all come together, that’s flow.”
Also interesting: The many health benefits of walking meditation
The 10 core characteristics of the flow state
- Action and consciousness merge. The doer and the doing become one. From the perspective of consciousness we become action. In other words, actions feel automatic and require little or no additional resources.
- selflessness. Our sense of self disappears. Also our self-confidence. The inner critic is silenced.
- timelessness. We are experiencing a different perception of time. Past and future disappear and we dive into an eternal present, into a deep now.
- ease. Our sense of struggle and strife disappears. The experience becomes intrinsically rewarding or, in technical parlance, autotelic.
- paradox of control. We have a strong sense of control over the situation. We are captains of our own ship, masters of this little piece of destiny.
- intrinsic motivation. The experience itself is motivating. We do it for love, not for money. We do it because the activity itself is so incredibly exciting that it’s reward enough.
- Intense concentration. In particular, intensive concentration on a limited information field. Total focus on the right thing, here, right now. Complete absorption in the present moment.
- Balance between challenge and skills. The challenge of the task at hand is slightly beyond our abilities, so we have to step out of our comfort zone. But not too far. We must stretch, but not snap.
- Clear targets. These are not big goals, such as E.g. the victory at…