1/18/2020 What is a "Flow State" and how do I know if I am in one?

- Troy Erstling

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FLOW

What is a “Flow State” and how do I know if I

am in one?

Have you ever felt like you’re “in the zone”? A state where you’re so focused and
concentrated that you have tunnel vision, where everything is effortless and you
perform at your best?

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1/18/2020 What is a "Flow State" and how do I know if I am in one? - Troy Erstling

If Learn
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Enter a “Flow State”.
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Coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a flow state is a scientific term used to describe

an altered state of consciousness where people are so focused that they reach
heightened levels of performance with less effort.

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Previously only associated with high performance athletes and mystical
experiences, science is slowly showing us that flow can be experienced by anyone,
anywhere.

Chefs, barbers, actors and actresses, writers, artists, musicians – you name it,
across every discipline of high performers you will likely find flow states somewhere
in the mix.

Thanks to Steven Kotler and the Flow Research Collective, science is slowly
unraveling the codes to flow, and we’re beginning to understand it’s signature, and
more importantly…how we can replicate it.

So what exactly IS flow? What are it’s baseline qualities and characteristics? How
does someone know that they are in a flow state?

Before we can describe or define flow, let’s backtrack a little and set the foundation
by understanding the various states of consciousness.

First, lets begin at your ordinary state of consciousness. Your waking state. The
normal state of mind you carry around with you on a day to day basis.

Let’s call this homeostasis if you will. Your baseline status quo of what life is like.
Your default mode.

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Then,
Learnwe
howhave something
to love yourself andcalled non-ordinary
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These are states like sleeping, trance,

GEThypnotized,
UPDATES or even possessed. A “non-

normal” state of consciousness different from your default mode.

On the spectrum of NOSC’s (and believe me, it’s a wide spectrum), these
experiences can range from highly uncomfortable to highly pleasurable – or
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ecstatic.

Flow is a NOSC that falls in the category of ecstatic – or extasis….aka it feels really
fucking good. Imagine that your body is giving you a fat cocktail of all it’s feel good
chemicals at the same time…and that’s what you get on flow.

So to begin with, we must accept that this is an altered state of consciousness

where you perform at your best and feel really good while doing it.

So let’s dive a bit deeper. How do you know when you’re in flow? What are it’s
qualities and characteristics?

There are about 4 core components –

SELFLESSNESS –

You get to take a break from the typical dialogue floating through your brain. You
step outside of yourself and get a new perspective on things. You zoom out and see
the world a bit differently.

In other words, you get outside of your own head. That “inner-critic” shuts off and
you experience relief from the constantly running to-do list of the brain.

This is important too, because the more that this voice quiets down, the more that
flow takes over. The normal doubt that screams telling you not to do something

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becomes
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TIMELESSNESS

The quintessential “time flies when you’re having fun.” When you’re so immersed in
an activity that nothing else exists and you lose track of time.
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When you’re so focused that nothing can distract you, all that exists is the moment
of presence that you have with yourself and the activity at hand.

When you’re in flow, time doesn’t exist. Things slow down while seemingly speeding
up. You lose track of time and are fully immersed in the present moment at one with
your activity.

So now at this point our inner critic has shut off, we’re fully immersed and
undistracted and things become…

EFFORTLESSNESS

You’re so tapped in that you know what to do and you don’t need to think about it.
Macro movements become a series of micro movements. You have improved
awareness of the finer details of your surroundings and can use that information to
your advantage.

For some reason, you perform at your best with less effort. You know exactly what
to do, and there is zero latency between you and those movements. Everything
clicks in a way that conscious thinking can’t deliver.

And last, when the body is operating in this peak state what is the final quality of
Flow?

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RICHNESS
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This is where the magic happens. Flow states have the ability to surface powers and
intuition that lie deep within us. Answers to problems we didn’t know existed. A
source of knowledge that our conscious minds get in the way of.

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When all of these gears of flow are in motion you can literally do things you are not
normally capable of. This is where the lines of creativity and innovation become
blurred, where people find solutions to creative problems they have been working
on, when the limits of human capacity are blown out the water.

It’s also where people have the potential to lose their minds and have religious
revelations, but that’s for another time….

Flow is richness of experience. The ability to rapidly pull in new information and
arrive at conclusions that weren’t previously possible. The ability to tap into dormant
inspiration and creativity and create things you never imagined.

So let’s review…

When we’re in flow we get outside of our heads and shut off the inner critic, we’re
lost in the moment fully immersed and present, which makes activities effortless as
the body becomes flooded with happiness chemicals and this perfect trifecta of
ingredients leads to humans exceeding their potential in unimaginable ways!

A flow state is an enhanced state of performance where we’re operating at our

highest level. Where we can do more with less friction. Where we can tap into the
powers that lie dormant within.

An optimal state of existence where we perform at our best and feel amazing while
doing it. A state that produces the happiest people on earth, and is consistent

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across spirituality
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to love yourself athletes
and get weird. to musicians
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consciousness that pushes the boundaries of what we believe to be possible.

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Want to learn more? Schedule a call with me and Ill tell you more about Zero to
Dangerous – A course teaching you how to have longer, deeper, and more
consistent flow states.
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troygerstling
Troy Erstling is an Entrepreneur, Speaker, Writer, World Traveler and overall
great dude :) He was previously the Founder of BrainGain.co, a platform
connecting people to international work opportunities. He has lived in

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He loves to get the most out of every day and live life with a smile :)
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