“It’s about chasing the best possible version of yourself. You have to put yourself into the struggle.” – Steven Kotler
This is how Steven Kotler, author of “The Rise of Superman – Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance describes The Flow State.
What is the Flow State?
You have experienced it many times in your life.
Read below to find out.
Brief Explanation of the Flow State of Mind
During one of my latest workouts I was listening to the Lewis Howes: School of Greatness Podcast and found myself completely wrapped up in the topic of the show: The Flow State.
It’s that state of mind you get when you feel invincible and if you have ever played a video game you have experienced it.
Let me explain:
It’s when you get so wrapped up in what you’re doing that you literally lose track of time. You then check the clock and you can’t believe how much time has passed.
Time literally flies by while you’re in a Flow State.
My Personal Account of Flow State
Being a Professional Gamer without doubt puts you into the Flow State.
Why?
In Howes podcast Kotler briefly talks about how Video Games put people into a lower level of flow state and when I heard this I immediately wondered, “if this is a lower level, what must the highest levels feel like?”
Kotler explains their are 4 distinct triggers that put people into Flow State:
- Struggle
- Relaxation
- Flow
- Memory Learning & Consolidation Phase
What I have found amazing is how easily I experience what I’m assume to be the Flow State.
And I get there playing Video Games
(I will explain Struggle, Relaxation & Memory Learning & Consolidation Phase as “Flow” was explained above)
The Struggle
Kotler explains the struggle as being something similar to a football Wide Receiver trying to learn new routes to run. The Wide Receiver is going outside his comfort zone and because of this it’s causing him stress that triggers the first phase of Flow State.
This is also true when playing video games. Specifically speaking, about my game of choice (Madden NFL), I spend a ton of time in practice mode perfecting new plays.
When I sit down in practice mode I try new combinations of routes and look to see what works against specific types of defensive coverages. This is the learning curve phase that can often time be frustrating or confusing as to figure out what works best against different types of coverage.
I notice a much stronger struggle when I’m actually playing a live opponent. During the initial part of the game I have just a few minutes to analyze my opponents offensive and defensive strategies.
This initial phase can be stressful especially in live situations like at the Virgin Gaming Madden Challenge where the grand prize of $140,000 was up for grabs.
Live events create the ultimate struggle which can only be described afterwards as being emotionally stressful and tiring.
The Relaxation
To be able to sit back and relax in the moment is extremely hard, but their are moments in which this occurs every time I play Madden.
These are moments of clarity or ah-ha moments during competition. Typically these moments occur after any scoring play.
It feels almost like you’re climbing to the top of a water slide and as soon as points are scored you immediately start going down the slide.
You are no longer in control, as in you’re flying down the slide with no way of stopping yourself, but you’re on a path where you’re able to slow things down and analyze your situation.
These are the biggest moments of every game. This is where the best players adjust and make key decisions to win games and where the worst players do nothing.
The ability to almost see yourself and the game your playing from a out of body experience in key moments of relaxation is vital to the success of any Gamer.
I often tell my Madden community that what makes a great Madden player is there ability to adjust to whats happening in game.
This is directly related to being able to relax in game.
Memory Learning & Consolidation Phase
After every “Flow” state begins the Memory Learning & Consolidation Phase. This is when you get a chance to put to use what you have learned from your previous experience.
I believe this is when you learn the most about yourself and have the highest chance for growth.
The #1 question I receive about Madden is “how can I improve my defense”.
My answer is always “take away their number one option”. For good reason too. If you want to have lockdown defense in Madden it starts and ends with this one strategy.
This can’t actually be done without the Memory Learning & Consolidation Phase. Without the ability to analyze your opponent and learn from your previous experiences you will never be able to master this strategy and never truly advance your game.
If you can’t take away your opponents number one option how can you ever worry about stopping the run and covering up both outside C gaps?
Better yet how will you ever learn about Middle Field Open Coverage vs Middle Field Closed.
One of the most important aspects to defense starts with reflecting on your past experience and then determining the course of action you will take to improve moving forward.
This is the number one area gamers fall short and is something I’m consistently looking to teach better.
What This All Means For You
Kotler and Howes talk about how important Flow state is and was for them in their individual lives. Being able to harness this powerful mindset is what separates good & great.
From my own experience I have found that I can not only get into Flow State just from video games but just about anything I consciously choose to do.
Heres how:
- Topic of interest – This can be anything. It just has to be something that peeks your interest
- Challenge – No matter if you’re a beginner or a expert you must stress yourself so that every experience is a “new” experience
- People – If I had a secret this would be it. People bring about new circumstances. This is the fail safe to your “challenge”. When you introduce people into the equation it adds new variables which almost always challenge you in a new way.
The Easiest Example Possible…
Want to put this into use? The easiest way I know of doing this is by playing Golf.
Golf is extremely difficult to master & it involves people. I have found that “people” is the hardest part for most as they tend to do things in private. Now the catch here is that you have to actually enjoy Golf, but it is a option for you to get into Flow State.
Final Thoughts
We have all experienced the Flow State of mind.
Whats most important is being able to call upon it to be your best self. This is one link to the chain of success, but will be helpful for you along your way.
There are times when you need to be locked in and bust out loads of work and of course other times when you can sit back and relax.
Do This Now
When have you been in Flow State? Can you describe your experience? What were you doing?
Share your stories below in the chat.
Be clear. Be concise.
This is a perfect article for my situation. I started off truely horrible in Online Madden. It stressed me out so bad I started focusing on everything I did wrong in my online games. I then pointed those problems out to my self and began to focus on how to better my weaknesses. I then began to practice and understand the game alot better with the help of Sgibs and Zfarls. I then reached a flow state where I went from 2 wins 19 loss to 17 wins 19 loses I won 15 straight games and continued to win and lose, but with a better understanding of the game and the fact that one cant win every game. I sometimes find my self in a flow state when Im losing because I’am stressed out since being competitive is in my nature. I was losing to Biggestdikus the #7 Mut player on PS4 I feel into a flow state and won 10-7 Im not even ranked.
its a great place to be.
thanks for stopping by Skudz. Madden is a tough game but what makes it fun is being in the flow state.
So there is an actual name for this huh? Sounds almost like a sort of nirvana. I think I actually live the majority of my life in the Flow State of mind (LOL). I tend to zone in on whatever I’m doing at any particular moment and let the rest of the world just move on until I’m satisfied with the situations outcome (or am snapped back to reality somehow). This is most apparent in my gaming. I’ll even take your relaxation point a little further with the most Powerful Flow state being when you’ve grabbed a sizable lead, and are deep enough into the learning and consolidation phase that you know that no matter what your opponent tries, the inevitable unstoppable play is on its way (hint: QB kneel).
I find this state of mind manifests in many aspects of life. I actually choose this state of being over minding a clock when I’m grinding at my 9 to 5 to help the time pass. I feel my performance is better in this state as well, for I’m fully honed in on what I’m doing. I experience this when I choose to learn something new, working out, even working the skills on the BBQ grill. Nice to be able to identify what’s going on during these times.
awesome stuff man.
i totally agree about the QB Kneel point you made. Thats the ultimate relaxation phase in any game