Flow State and Well-being
When I’m asked where I get my ideas for The Athena Wellness blog and podcast, I often reply that I’m in an ongoing conversation with my business. Of course, this isn’t literal, but I do feel a call and response relationship with Athena Wellness.
This relationship is rooted in creative energy and leads the way to best serve my clients, readers and listeners. And I’ve found that the deeper I go with anything – a business, a partnership, nature, a project, or a practice – the more I set the stage to enter creative flow.
There’s a strong connection between creativity and wellness. For some, it can be a negative relationship, but for most, the creative process can promote good health. And research has shown that when we flex our creative muscles, we build our capacity to deal with experimental failure, to adapt, and to problem-solve, which leads to stronger mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Creativity is an asset in both our personal and professional lives. It’s the ability to think and act differently – by asking questions, making observations, experimenting, and connecting disparate concepts to make something new, something better.
It’s been found that business leaders who are considered creative are more likely to be comfortable with ambiguity and disruption and have a willingness to innovate and make enterprise-wide business model changes. Business teams who brainstorm and transform together function at higher levels of well-being while innovating for the company.
If there’s one person who is credited with formulating the theory of creative flow, it’s the psychologist, Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmilhalyi, who wrote a book entitled, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
Dr. Csikszentmilhalyi’s theory is that people are happiest when they are in the state of flow, that is, when they are completely immersed and absorbed in a situation. This is a highly focused mental state where performance and productivity soars effortlessly as we get lost in the creative activity.
I’m sure you can recall a time when you’ve witnessed this – a pro athlete who’s in the zone and can’t seem to miss or a musician who is just dialed into the groove and seems unaware of anything but the task at hand. And perhaps you can bring to mind a time when you felt or feel the same – while physically training, during an awe-inspiring experience, or in flow with your business or creative pursuit – when things felt effortless, spontaneous, and enjoyable.
Here are some of the characteristics of the flow state:
There’s complete engagement and involvement in the task, with high levels of focus and concentration.
There’s a sense of transcendence, that ecstatic feeling we get when we’re just outside of our regular sense of reality.
There’s an inner knowledge we tap into giving us a sense of what needs to be done and how to do it.
That knowing comes from the practicing the skills needed to perform the activity and knowing it’s doable, even if it’s a stretch.
There’s an ego-less sense of inner peace in that knowing.
There’s no sense of time or awareness of physical needs, like hunger.
There’s no goal beyond the activity itself.
There are physical reasons for this enhanced state, in particular, in brain function. When we enter flow, brainwaves slow down and the mind quiets, much like when we meditate or practice yoga. Also, a mood-enhancing cocktail of chemicals are released – endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, which impact creativity, pleasure and well-being – think of a runner’s high kind of feeling.
There are a number of benefits for those who can enter this state. They include:
Willingness and intrinsic motivation to learn, develop and master skills;
Increased positive mental state;
Enhanced ability to manage emotions;
Access to more inspiration and creativity; and
Greater life engagement, fulfillment and happiness.
Of course, there are also things that can hinder creative flow. Five things come to mind:
Distractions, such as email, phone, and settings that are too noisy or too quiet;
Overcommitment resulting in competing priorities;
Self-awareness that leads to self-editing or censoring;
Fatigue, which can make it harder to focus; and
Disengagement, resulting in lower levels of curiosity.
When we create, our spirit is engaged, bringing presence and well-being into our lives. When we enter a flow state, we become more productive and creative, so it’s worthwhile to think about how to invite creative flow into our everyday activities and even re-design how we operate, so we can feel and perform at our best.
Here are five things to consider:
Focus – If you can find a way to be focused in the morning, you’ll find it continues throughout the day. Some strategies include preparing for your morning activities in advance and formally scheduling the time in your calendar. For example, I prepare for my morning writing sessions the night before. I decide on the topic and have my writing materials near my computer. I also set the coffee pot, lay out my workout clothes and know what time I need to wake and workout so I’m ready to write at 8am. All of this helps me not to expend unnecessary mental energy.
Structure – It may seem counterintuitive; you would think that structure would dampen flow. But for some, myself included, having a clear game plan gives the left-brain something to latch onto while the right brain roams. Creating structure can be as simple as defining the activity and deciding on start/stop times, or it can be more involved, like the writing process I shared. I find the right amount of structure gives my mind the freedom to explore beyond the logical.
Stretch – This is about continuously raising the bar so you can go deeper with your activity. If things get too routine, it can be hard to stay present. Overcoming new challenges will encourage you to keep learning and stay in the moment – and that engagement fuels flow.
Practice – When we see people in flow, like sports icons or musicians, what we’re witnessing is the results of thousands of hours of practice. This is because when knowledge, skills and practice align, flow states are not uncommon. Training in improvisation techniques, like actors, musicians or creators, can get us to flow. So can incorporating practice time for whatever activity you find engaging.
Choose something you love – Even though it’s not critical to love an activity to experience flow, it can be helpful. And it will certainly make the time spent doing the activity more enjoyable. You may find yourself practicing more, which can lead to challenging yourself by stretching, which can result in more focus and flow.
When you invite flow into your everyday, your activities, even work and chores, become more fun and engaging. Challenges become problem-solving opportunities and our activities bring a sense of newness and aliveness as we connect with deeper currents in our lives.
And yes, you may even find yourself entering into a conversation with your business or your life to get a sense of what’s working, what’s not working, new ideas, new connections, new possibilities and new ways of being in flow.
Journal Reflections: What hinders creative flow in your life? How can you minimize those factors? What’s one thing you can do today to encourage and welcome flow?