The Closest Thing We Have to a Real-Life Superpower
“The secret to success in any human endeavor is total concentration.”—Kurt Vonnegut
We can’t shoot lasers out of our eyes.
We can’t run faster than the speed of light.
We can’t transform into giant green versions of ourselves and smash things we don’t like.
But, we do have a valuable superpower that many of us aren’t using.
It’s flow.
As defined by Steven Kotler in his book, The Rise of Superman, Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance:
“Flow is an optimal state of consciousness when you feel and perform your best. It’s the moment of total absorption.
Time speeds up or slows down like a freeze-frame effect.
Mental and physical ability go through the roof, and the brain takes in more information per second, processing it more deeply.”
Getting into flow is no easy feat.
But understanding the impact of the following three things can at least help trigger flow:
#1 The role of becoming proficient at a specific task.
Entering into flow requires that you access the subconscious part of your brain, which can only take place when you aren’t having to consciously think through an activity.
Riding a bike is a good example of this.
When a child is first learning to ride, they have to meticulously think through every movement — they’re robotic.
But, as they become proficient at riding a bicycle, they can enter into a flow state.
Do you remember as a kid hopping on your bike and riding for what felt like a few trips around the neighborhood?
Then, suddenly, realizing it was almost nighttime?
That’s flow.
Evaluating your proficiency levels at different tasks can help understand your ability to enter into flow.
#2 The role of emotional state
The zone is an emotional state, which means it can be more easily triggered by exposing oneself to strong emotions.
Managing the strong (negative) emotions that come with a day job you aren’t really passionate about can be challenging, though.
Mindfulness practices such as daily meditation are a powerful way to develop a non-reactive mind so you don’t let those emotions control you.
Another option that has helped me to improve my ability to flow is harnessing the power of music to trigger flow.
I like this playlist.
#3 The role of context switching
When it comes to entering into flow, focus is more important than anything else.
It’s ridiculous to think you can perform your best when you’re distracted by chatty coworkers, bombarded by incoming notifications, or pulled into meetings.
Context switching, i.e., moving our focus from one activity to another, can cause a 40% loss in productivity since our brains need to recalibrate.
Willpower-based solutions such as resisting the urge to check your notifications can help increase your focus on a single task.
But what I’ve found hugely helpful is scheduling uninterrupted times into my day.
Best-selling author Cal Newport calls this philosophy “Deep Work”.
He recommends dedicating preset times each day for uninterrupted time where distractions of any kind should be avoided, if possible, even internet access.
By scheduling deep work into our days, we can protect ourselves from the temptation of distractions and increase our chances to get into flow.