What is this magical state just beyond the physical plane? This realm inhabited by the few yet adored by many? What is it like, transcending left-brain governance and soaring to the heights of pure right-brain instinct? Today, now, I’m going to do my best to explain what it’s like being in the “flow-state”. Before I do that though, I should probably explain (roughly) what the “flow-state” is…
So what “is” the flow-state?
Despite my introduction making it sound like an almost mythical place, the flow-state is actually rooted in science. Without making this portion of the article longer than it has to be, check out this article by Road & Track that delves into it more than I will here, in essence though, the flow-state is like being “in the groove” so to speak. To be in the flow-state, the challenge (task, job, etc) has to be sufficiently difficult so that you’re engaged (or properly stimulated), but your skill in relation to that challenge also has to be equally or nearly as high, so you believe (despite the difficulty) you can actually succeed. If the challenge is too easy, you’ll just get bored and you won’t be engaged (kind of like Albert Einstein failing high school math because it was too easy for him). If the challenge is too hard (like trying to run a marathon when you can only do a sprint), you’ll just get frustrated. It’s this delicate balance –this song and dance– of needing to rise to the occasion (thus forcing you to focus in) yet also having the competency to succeed if you put your all into it. Sort of like the Ying and Yang for good and evil, you can’t have one without the other and be in the flow-state.
Sounds tricky, doesn’t it? Sounds like no normal human being would be able to enter it, right? Well unless you’re passionate about things in normal circumstances, then you probably won’t enter it. Having more than enough time to finish an article by deadline whilst sitting at a desk won’t bring out the blaze of focus and skill typical of being in the flow-state. Now if you’ve got 2 hours to meet deadline and you know you’ve got the main points written down and the words-per-minute to flesh it out? Then you might just enter the flow-state.
To me, this sense of “David versus Goliath” has to be felt in a given situation for the right mindset to take hold in oneself before you can even hope to ascend into this holy place. An almost gladiatorial feeling of “this won’t be easy, but I’m not backing down” has to wash over not just one’s body, but one’s soul as well. Their entire being –their very existence– has to feel not only the push towards battle, but the push towards victory as well.
I think you get the gist though, so how does it really feel being in the flow-state, right?
What it’s like being in the “Flow-State”
I can think of one clear-cut instance where I was in the flow-state and several occasions where I must’ve been close while playing a video game. The first time was recently when I went to my local indoor go-karting track to beat a time I set a year prior, the other times were when I was really focusing during some matches in Rocket League. We’re only going to focus on the go-karting instance for today though.
This was the situation: I was a few sessions into the night and I had just come back from cutting a run short because I got horribly motion-sick early on. I’m now sitting at my table with my head resting in my arms as I try to quell my motion-sickness. I knew I was going to sit out more than 2 sessions, and I also knew that I was running out of time to break the 31-second mark. If I was going to achieve my goal, I had to give myself time to recover, hope for a lot of clean air, and then drive like a bat out of hell.
All the stars had to align for one or two sessions for me to achieve the goal I set out to accomplish. Talk about a “do-or-die” moment.
I quell the sickness as much as I can and gear up to head back out for the last session of the night. Everything riding on clean air, little dizziness, my own ability, and a little bit of divine intervention via the flow-state.
A few laps in and I’m getting back up to pace in the kart. Any dizziness I had was minimal enough that it didn’t get in the way. I’m coming up to a left-hand sweeper before a set of chicanes and my mind began to go blank. My eyes widened slightly and everything was… calm. All my thoughts, emotions, and feelings seemingly disappeared as I drove blisteringly through each corner. Remember at the beginning when I said this realm transcends left-brain governance? That line wasn’t purely poetic. Any insecurities, any doubts, most thoughts all faded away into nothing, and instinct plus action took their place.
There was no Anime-esque “Let me show you my final form” shouting theatrics, it was… serene. Not relaxing, but engaging in a way that is all-encompassing yet entirely composed at the same time. There was no room for white-knuckle theatrics, there was no room to think about pushing myself to the limit (because I was already wholly consumed by the task at hand). You simply exist with a single-minded clarity that’s wonderfully intoxicating. In the flow-state, I could just be. None of the usual left-brain sensibilities, just… inner peace.
The flow-state is paradoxical though, because this “serenity” is combined with heightened reaction times. Going into one of the chicanes, I stayed on the brakes to upset the balance of the kart so it would pitch in. I let off the brake gently mid-corner, stopped counter-steering, drove out of the corner smoothly, and it didn’t even faze me. Little micro-adjustments, little micro-inputs like that were instantaneous. I didn’t have to consciously think about switching from focusing on my braking to focusing on my throttle input to then focusing on my steering. Everything happened in unison like a well-rehearsed orchestra, yet none of that happened with a huge increase in aggression. Again, there were no elbows-out antics, just baffling poise.
Don’t get the wrong idea, it’s not like you’re going unconscious as you enter the flow-state. The minute I finished the lap (and indeed the session) I was hollering inside my helmet about how awesome that lap was. I was completely awake, yet my mind was absolutely silent. I was well aware of where I was and what I was doing, but no conscious ideas were running through my head. It was very similar to when Dom, in the first Fast and Furious, talks to Brian about living his life a quarter-mile at a time. Telling him that nothing else matters, and for 10 seconds or less… he’s free. On that lap, In those moments, I felt the same way. I know, that sounds incredibly corny, but that’s about the most accurate thing in the entirety of the F&F franchise. Nothing but the task matters, no holding back, no negative little voice in the back of your head bringing you down. Just beautiful clarity, the burden of glorious one-track purpose, intense concentration, and instinctual movements combined with heightened reaction times.
That is what it’s like being in the flow-state.
Have you ever entered the flow-state? Tell me your experiences in the comments down below! As always I hope you all enjoyed this piece, I’ll see you next time.