Flow: Understanding and Achieving Flow State

Flow  Flow “an optimal state of consciousness, a state where you feel you best and perform your best” Where have you entered flow state? Write down your peak happiness moments  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Godfather of Flow Individuals were their most creative, product...

Flow  Flow “an optimal state of consciousness, a state where you feel you best and perform your best” Where have you entered flow state? Write down your peak happiness moments  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Godfather of Flow Individuals were their most creative, productive, and happy when in a state of flow. “Flow is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter”  Clear Goals Concentration 10 A loss of the feeling of self Components consciousness of Flow Distorted Sense of Time Direct and Immediate Feedback  Balance between ability level and challenge Personal control over the situation 10 Action is intrinsically rewarding Components of Flow Lack of awareness to bodily needs Absorption into the activity Our Brain in Flow  Brain in Flow Transient Hypofrontaility inner critic is off Athletes think Faster Superior frontal gyrus deactivates sense of time is gone They predict future actions Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex deactivates impulses go away The more times a particular pattern Superior Temporal Lobe heightened you become one fire, the stronger the connection with the environment between neurons become. Neocortex heightened ability to predict future patterns How is this helpful in sports? Sport specific examples?  Norepinephrine – Tightens focus (Data acquisition) Dopamine – Pattern Recognition (Data processing) Flow’s 5 Anandamide – Accelerates lateral thinking Chemicals (Widens the database searched by the pattern recognition system) Endorphins – Relieve pain and give pleasure Serotonin – After glow effect  Flow Cycle 1. Struggle – Overloading the brain with information. Effort seems unsustainable. 2. Release - Take your mind off the problem. Relaxation before event. 3. Zone – In the zone 4. Recovery – Or even better is lateralization (playing different sports)  How to get into Flow External Factors Internal Factors 1. Risk 1. Clear goal 2. Rich Environment 2. Immediate feedback 3. Deep Embodiment 3. Challenge Skill Ratio  Risk Risk or high consequence is needed to get into flow. To achieve anything need to tolerate and learn to enjoy risk Sports you risk getting injured, major part of why athletes are able to get into flow. Can not be scared to fail in sports and life. Embrace RISK!!! Write down risk you want to take  Rich Environment Novelty – Danger or opportunity situations help transient hypofrontality Unpredictability Complexity – Sports are very complex, no play is exactly the same. Nature is the number one thing you can do to help rich environment  Deep Embodiment Paying attention to multiple sensory systems at once. Bodily awareness coming from inside your body as well as information your body is taking in from your surroundings Practice by mindfulness Sports have no choice, we have to pay attention to the unfolding of the action  Internal Flow – Clear Goals 1. Identify our task (know what to do) 2. Align that task with belief (why were doing it) 3. Clear goal impact attention – Focus narrows, the unimportant is disregarded Emphasis on clear not goals Create tiny clear goals Immediate Feedback Coupling between cause and effect Our attention does not have to wander. Write down some examples in sport where we receive immediate feedback where our attention does not need to wander  Challenge/Skill Ratio Task is hard enough to make us stretch but not hard enough to make us snap 4% Higher than Skill – Per Day  Group Flow SOLITARY FLOW – IN FLOW COACTIVE FLOW – PEOPLE INTERACTIVE FLOW – ALONE NEAR BY, OR WATCHING CLIMBING PARTNER, TEAMMATES. HIGHEST PERFORMER  Serious Shared Concertation Clear Shared Goals Social Good Communication Triggers Equal Participation Element of Shared Risk  Social Triggers 6. Familiarity 7. Blending Egos 8. Sense of shared control 9. Close Listening 10. Always say yes  Creative Triggers A desirable skill to have in the 21st Study: century Hypofrontality induced artificially, The process of developing original subjects had more novel insights ideas that have value. Neuroelectrically, subjects had low alpha A creative act results in dopamine and high theta waves. Relaxed able to release (one that requires risk taking move from notion to notion. (Pattern and pattern recognition) recognition) Calm, Confident and Content Prefrontal Cortex deactivates = inner critic shuts off.  Need to be intrinsically motivated. Having a growth mindset allows you to into flow quickly Flow is Autotelic Involves meeting challenges and developing skills Taking risks and experience life to the fullest  Human Motivation (Intrinsic) 1. Survival 2. Autonomy – Desire to direct own life 3. Mastery – Learn/explore/create 4. Purpose – The desire to matter  Flow Shorten struggle by visualization before game 12 Week bicep curl study – Control Group decrease strength. Physical training group increase by 53 percent. Visualization group increase by 35 percent. Children more flow prone because of underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. Self directed learning, long periods of intense concentration, embodied education. Distractions are flow’s number one enemy Put phones away when studying, block out the noise.