3 Mindsets That Spark Flow States, No Matter What You’re Doing
How to apply Eckhart Tolle’s mindsets for growth in every area of your life
Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth” paints a vision of a world populated by people that aren’t ruled by ego.
Instead, the majority of people have evolved to a point where they can tap into a universal consciousness that guides all living things.
Even if you’re not spiritually minded, you can still apply some of Tolle’s ideas to help you grow. The three mindsets he describes towards the end of the book are especially helpful:
- Acceptance
- Enthusiasm
- Enjoyment
If you apply one or more of these to everything you do — both work and relationships — there’s a good chance you’ll lead a happier life.
You’ll find yourself entering a“flow state” more often, which is a highly fulfilling state of being.
The mindsets have helped me to bring about big life changes in recent years.
But before we explore them in more detail, let’s first address some resistance you might feel.
The 3 Big Lies We’ve Been Sold
Many of us have bought into three big lies in the modern world:
1. Work should feel difficult. Like a chore. A struggle. A bind.
2. Happiness is to be found somewhere in the future, not right now.
3. We achieve happiness by earning more money and buying products.
None of these are true.
In fact, each one is an obstacle to entering flow state.
1. Work should feel difficult. Like a chore. A struggle. A bind.
The first lie keeps you locked into a mindset that says working yourself into the ground is morally right. Back-breaking or soul-destroying work is noble in some way. It says that work shouldn’t be enjoyable or playful. For something to qualify as “work”, it must be serious and hard.
2. Happiness is to be found somewhere in the future, not right now.
The second lie urges you to feel discontent with what you have right now. It denies you happiness in the present moment. It implies happiness is something that can be bought. Which brings us onto the next one:
3. We achieve happiness by earning more money and buying products.
The third lie says that if you just work a bit harder and make more money, then soon you’ll be happy. It’s nonsense. You can be happy right now, with nothing or with millions — it doesn’t matter. External success is a distraction from the most important thing in life — inner peace and growth.
Yes, you can adopt certain mindsets to help you find outer success and wealth, but if you don’t couple that with inner work, you’ll only find outer pleasure — not lasting happiness.
Once you get past a certain decent standard living, most studies show that extra material comforts makes very little difference to your happiness or contentment.
If the work you do makes you feel bad and offers little to improve the world we share, then it will never bring happiness, no matter how many millions you make.
It reminds me of the old biblical passage that says “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” In other words, if your main purpose in life is to make money, you’ll never find true contentment. After all, there’s always more money to be made.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs makes a similar point. Once you’ve met your basic physiological, safety and security, and relationship needs, the higher tiers are all about developing self esteem, achievement, and reaching self actualization.
Once you’ve got a decent income and good supportive relationships, then developing your character and giving something worthwhile to the world will make you happier — not more money.
Flow states are integral to self-actualization.
If you can find something that puts you into a flow state, where you feel like you’re on the right path, then you’ll find contentment.
The Power of Flow States
Flow states happen when you live in alignment with your higher purpose.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the man who came up with the term flow state, describes it as a period of intense focus and deep involvement in an activity.
You become so engrossed in what you’re doing that distractions, time, and even a sense of self fade away.
His research showed that flow is an intrinsically rewarding state in which we feel and perform at our best.
It happens when the task at hand poses a challenge that stretches our abilities, but not so much that it generates anxiety or feels impossible.
Flow is a state in which you feel like things are moving in the right direction. You’re growing mentally and spiritually (and in some cases physically) in different ways.
That’s not to say there won’t be some pain involved. Doing anything worthwhile causes some pain.
The pain of leaving behind conditioned ways of thinking.
The pain of overcoming fear.
The pain of the unknown.
But the pain is worth it.
The payoff you get when you push yourself slightly outside of your comfort zone and succeed is immense.
I recently finished writing my second children’s novel. At times it was difficult, even painful, to sit down and write. But when I get into “the zone” and enter a flow state — that’s where the magic happens.
Blogging is another activity that induces a flow state for me.
Come to think of it — I’m in one right now!
Three Mindsets To Induce Flow
As soon as I started making a conscious effort to apply the following mindsets to almost every daily activity, things began to change for the better.
Let’s look at them one-by-one.
Acceptance — Surrendering to What Is
Acceptance means acknowledging the reality of the present moment without resistance, judgment, or wishing things were different. This includes accepting uncomfortable emotions or challenging circumstances.
As humans, we often feel resistance to what is, usually manifesting as negative thoughts or emotions that fight against the present moment. By accepting ‘what is’, we allow inner peace to emerge.
For example, if you’re currently stuck in a unfulfilling job, you can work on acceptance. Accept that this is your present reality and try to look for ways to make it more interesting. You accept it while planning and taking action to find a more fulfilling career.
Eckhart Tolle argues that true freedom lies in accepting the present moment as it is, rather than constantly striving for change or a future outcome.
The opposite of an acceptance mindset is a victim mentality. “I can’t succeed because of things that happened in my childhood” or “The economy is in a mess, so I can’t do what I want to do”. I’m not saying that childhood trauma isn’t real, but if it’s holding you back in the present, then you need to do something about it.
Find a way to accept the bad things that happened to you, then move on. Therapy helps. Journaling helps. Prayer helps. Let go of the inner victim, otherwise it’s very difficult to get into regular flow states and grow as a person (believe me — I’ve been there).
Acceptance means acknowledging and letting go of distractions, anxieties about the future, or judgement about performance. This non-resistance creates the mental space you need for deep immersion in whatever it is you’re doing.
Enjoyment — Moving Beyond Wanting
Tolle believes that enjoyment arises when we appreciate the present moment without needing anything more.
It’s a state of deep contentment, in which we align with the “now” and drop the ego’s desire for things to be different.
Enjoyment is a powerful creative force. When we act from a mindset of enjoyment rather than neediness, we access a deeper source of creativity and positive action.
True enjoyment means appreciating the moment itself, not just striving towards some external reward. This aligns with the intrinsic joy of flow, where the activity itself becomes the reward.
Yes, you can still set goals. In fact — flow states rely on goals. You need to know what it is you want to achieve before you start.
But the external reward isn’t the sole focus. If you’re a writer, when you sit down to write something, don’t think about the money, but focus on the process of writing.
When you’re writing, the only worthwhile goal is how to help or entertain the reader in some way — not the pay cheque at the end of it.
Enthusiasm — Beyond Egoic Desire
Enthusiasm is rooted in a deep sense of purpose.
Enthusiasm happens naturally when we align our daily activities with a higher purpose, separate from the individual ego’s desire for personal gain or achievement.
Tolle sees enthusiasm as a powerful driver of inspired action in the world. When we act from this state, we are more effective and generate less inner resistance and external suffering along the way.
Aligning enthusiasm with flow creates a natural energy that drives you forward and sustains focus. It means you’re more likely to push through challenges instead of getting discouraged,
When you’re enthusiastic, you’re coming from a place of joy rather than forced obligation.
Example from My Own Life
Over the past few years, I’ve found intense flow states through my day-job and creative writing projects.
I apply acceptance when writing technical content for clients, as it can be pretty boring at times. I generate some enthusiasm by aiming to deliver the best possible work to my clients.
My real love is writing children’s stories. The enjoyment part seems to come naturally, as I get a playful energy that keeps me in prolongued flow states. Sometimes several hours pass, but it feels like just ten minutes.
Enthusiasm comes from sharing deeper messages that are woven into the stories. For example, my first book Mikey the Magic Poet is all about helping sensitive children to find power and purpose through their creative abilities.
My second book, Saving Winklebottom Woods, (soon to be released) has an eco-conscious message. The main character teams up with a group of animals to stop their local woods from being demolished by a greedy developer.
Over the past three years, I’ve expanded my freelance business, written two books, a collection of short stories, lots of poetry, and dozens of blog posts…
When you enter flow states on a regular basis — anything is possible.
You’ll find yourself with more energy than you ever thought possible.
And more importantly than that, you’ll be living in alignment with your higher purpose — whatever it is you were put on this earth to do.
If you enjoyed this article, check out more of my writing here: https://linktr.ee/drmartinauthor
