Get into your groove… like your life depends on it.
“Flow state” is defined as optimal fluidity between body and mind where time slows, senses are heightened, and we experience the deep satisfaction of total absorption and effortless momentum.
Hungarian-American psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi was the first to coin the term. He began researching the phenomenon in the 1970s and in 1990 published the definitive book on the subject, “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.”
Often referred to as being in the groove or the zone, and known in Japan as ikigai, flow is typically found when we engage in challenging activities within our skill level. Flow state can be reached through a range of pursuits and pastimes: physical exercise, a creative endeavor, engaging work, even a simple task.
You know you’re there when worry ceases, efficacy peaks and you feel limitless.
Sounds good and feels good, but how do we get there and how good is it for us?
Miriam Mosing, Associate Professor of Behavior Genetics at Karolinska Institutet, reports that while genetics and environmental factors play a part in our ability to reach a flow state regularly, a third factor may hold the key to whether or not we surf the wave of fluidity.
Mosing points to the concept of “neuroticism,” which she describes as a personality trait that indicates “our tendency to be emotionally unbalanced and easily irritated.” She reports that those with high neuroticism scores are more disposed to stress and psychological strain as well as cardiovascular and somatic diseases.
In a study published in Translational Psychiatry, Mosing and her team investigate whether neuroticism influences the association between flow and mental health, whether mental health problems lead to less flow and if a regular flow state protects us against certain health problems.
Using real-life diagnoses from 9,300 people in the Swedish patient registry, Mosing and her team found that people prone to flow had a lower risk of certain diagnoses including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, stress-related disorders and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers also discovered that regular flow experiences may have some protective effect against the development of major depression and anxiety.
Mosing maintains that more research is needed to determine if and how we can manipulate flow in the interest of improving health. Yet, she notes that the benefits of finding your flow are both immediate and substantial.
“When we are in a state of flow, it is likely that we are spending less time ruminating over our lives or worrying about the future — simply because we are occupied and the experience of flow in itself is rewarding. So if something you love doing makes you lose all sense of space and time, it is likely that it is good for you — at least in that moment.”
For those looking to find their flow, other researchers have identified 22 “flow triggers.” As The Post reports, these triggers include clear goals, immediate feedback, a rich environment and a task at hand that challenges our skill set just enough.
Steven Kotler, author of the flow-inspired “The Art of the Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer,” espouses “Flow follows focus. The state can only arise when all of our attention is directed at the present moment.”
