How to step into the flow state
Create your materials with ease, joy and efficiency.
Do you want to be productive and create from a place of joy?
If you want the information or stories you provide to flow through you without effort and to have the fulfilling sensation of the work done with satisfaction and progress, it is worth making friends with the state of flow.
My ski experience/adventure reminded me of the flow state.
How it feels to have it, and its absence.
The first week of 2022 found me taking a deep breath on the slopes.
I don’t know what sport you like to practice, but the ski fills me with joy — from the sight of a shining white slope to the gliding movement and the freedom of descent through the fresh winter air is a combination that fulfills me and activates me.
The first days of 2022 found me with 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄, that state that naturally happens when you are body and soul part of an activity, all in it, in total immersion.
There are times when the ski slope is a gateway to the flow state, my mind sings and the body dances in ski turns. And maybe you’ve experienced this, either in skiing or in another sport you love, or in the mental movement of creative ideas- that moment when you enjoy the flexible movement in harmony with the pitch, you feel the gliding smoothly. Instead of effort…you feel joy.
“Ego falls down. Time is flying. Every action, movement and thought inevitably results from the previous one, as in playing jazz. Your whole being is involved and you use your skills to the full”, as Csíkszentmihályi defines the state of flow.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 …with many wrinkled snowdrifts — like the enormous molehills that cover the garden of Bugs Bunny, create trouble and make him poorer (in carrots), but in the white version, blocking movement and transforming the descent into an obstacle course. No flow. Every turn in the loose snow was stuck. Unseen elastic was pulling you back and putting pressure on your ankles without any feeling of easiness.
And one of the turns completely broke off the movement- the earth turned faster, the skies did not listen to any synchronized commands. I didn’t realize how I ended up gliding down on the belly. One ski jumped off, and one involuntarily slowed down the gliding, sending a sharp pain on my knee.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗧𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁? 𝗧𝗼 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱.
An orthosis will accompany me in the next 6 weeks. It has already become my friend and helps my knee avoid stress and pain positions.
𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱.
But flow can be part not only of our sporting activities but also of the creative work we do for content creation. And yes, I can find it even with my left foot immobilised.
What is the flow state and what can it do for you?
Flow is a mental state described and studied by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. While you are in this mental state, you are fully involved and focused on what you are doing, you forget what’s happening around you and you’re living through the fulfilment of your work.
What benefits do you get? A lot, it’s worth accessing it.
- You enjoy more your work. You find rewards intrinsic to your own action. You feel the joy of doing it.
- You are fully committed to what you do.
- Your focus is sharpened. The world outside your task seems to disappear.
- You get improved performance.
- You’re amplifying your creativity.
How to enter the flow state?
You can’t force the flow to come to you, but you can create the right conditions for that. Here’s the mechanism:
1. Choose the task you want to perform. The greatest secret is that the task must be in the optimum challenge zone. If something bores you, you won’t be fulfilled by doing it. If, on the contrary, there is something beyond your abilities, you will enter the stress zone and will not enjoy the process. (if, for example, I would have launched on that black slope, where the Austrians anchor the ratrac using a string to secure it, such a high incline it has, I would certainly not have been in the flow zone, but in the emergency hospital on the first day of my stay).
“The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to achieve something difficult and useful.” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 3).
Unfortunately, if you stretch beyond the limit, you get…a fracture.
But what happens when you have something to do that seems too big and too challenging for you? Cut it into small parts, into work stages. Get away from the entire task and just focus on the first stage. Then, you have enough challenge to keep you engaged and absorbed.
2. Feel the significance of the task. Why is it important for you to do this? When you have a strong enough why you can activate your internal resources to cope with the challenge level of the task with joy.
Ski is freedom for me. And creating content for those who follow me meets my contribution need. It’s not something I “have to” do. It’s something I feel I want to do.
Whether you want to write a blog article like I do now, create a lesson for an online course, a podcast episode or a series of emails to your customers, be specific in defining the meaning of the task for you and what you want to get.
3. Eliminate distractions. Create your dedicated appealing work environment. Hang up your phone, close your notifications, bring close to you a pleasant ritual that moves you to the focus and creativity area, which gives you the signal “go on!”. It can be a cup of your favorite tea, a cup of coffee or 5 minutes of soft music. Observe what works for you and give yourself the uninterrupted working time necessary to enter the flow state (it will take around 10–15 minutes) and perform the task.
4. Dive into what you have to do and into the present moment
Connect with your body, your breath, your work. Free your mind of concerns about the outcome and the zigzags to other tasks.
Stay anchored in now and in the joyful work you do.
Practice and enjoy this condition that brings you results.
“Being in the flow state brings out the best in all of us.” Diane Allen
The state of flow is a mental state in which you are drawn before big significant goals but happy where you are now. It creates a sense of growth and a sense of being lucky.
“Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.” Lao Tzu
Let the flow be part of you!
With love,
Do you want to find out more about how to activate your creativity? Read this:
Want to make your presentations magnetically attractive? Discover how to captivate and engage your public from my free guide: Speak so that people listen.
