Flow State
Insights from Sundays dinner on June 24th, 2018
Introduction
On Sunday, June 24th we hosted a dinner where we discussed flow state. This article summarizes big picture takeaways. Enjoy!
What is Flow State ? 🤔
Flow, aka being “in the zone”, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of said activity. It’s the state of complete absorption in what one is doing, resulting in one’s loss of their sense of space and time. (Thank you Wikipedia.)
Flow was originally coined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. (Thanks to him, too.)
How does one consistently achieve flow? 🌊
No one really knows. What we do know is that it’s not about thinking and all about doing. For me, being “in flow” feels like hyper-present. My inner dialogue is quiet. It’s like deep meditation, only I’m moving and acting. It happens when I’m working and sometimes when I’m playing. The common thread is that I’m just moving forward, making quick choices based on instinct and past experience. I am not judging and assessing each situation and weighing the pros and cons of things. I’m just trusting.
Based on takeaways from our dinner, we learned that the path to flow differs from one person to another. Some people require structure in their schedules to reach it, some people meditate to achieve it, some people can’t control when it occurs. Others claim they never experienced it at all. (It’s more likely they have, but did not have the language to describe it.)
I find flow fascinating and at some point, would like to publish a tool kit on achieving it more often. Until then, what’s worked for me is: 1) meditating every day, 2.) mindset coaching, and 3.) finding 1 or 2 quick ways to take action on something immediately vs. waiting until tomorrow.
Here are some great quotes from our group gathered over dinner.
Quotes from the group 🗣
“Flow requires a combination of deep concentration and trust in your capabilities”.
“Get into your body, out of your head.”
“Flow is a state of creativity and mindfulness.”
“Trust your instinct & be present in the now.”
“Flow is like like having white space for creativity, on which you act effortlessly and without conscious thought.”
“Conscious intention, unconscious execution.”
“No learning occurs during flow. Rather, what you’ve already picked up on in your journey in life is automatically projected outwards.”
“Flow doesn’t need a difficult task. It’s not productivity related — it can happen simply by enjoying the conversation and presence of others.”
“When one is in one flow, one experiences one voice vs. many.”
“Flow = energy creating.”
“Flow is the act of authentically being engaged in the work one is creating.”
“Flow state can make you forget physical needs like remembering to eat or use the toilet so take care of yourself .
“Flow states can be achieved when doing monotonous, tedious tasks if one focuses on the larger mission at hand.”
Thank you to all of our participants! 👏
Anna Bouma
Kareem Abukadhra
Mark Mangan
David Litwak
Ryan Cooley
Danilo Viscosio
Alex Foxworth
Kelly Wood
Tim Wood
Cassie Goldstein
Kristen Grant
Rachel Ryle
Ben Stein
Nic Weinfeld
Samir Rayani
Interested in attending a Sundays?
Visit Sundays to request an invite, or text +1.646.600.9100
