To this date I remember the 1st time I entered a flow state, I was 15 years old studying for a Biology Exam. Growing up I wanted to become a doctor. Topics like biology, chemistry, and anatomy fascinated me. I won’t ever forget how I felt when I entered the flow state.
I was up at 5:30 AM. It was a mid-spring day in Baghdad, Iraq. I was studying for a major exam and I wanted to get an A to make sure that my game plan of becoming a doctor will come to fruition. The Weather was nice and I was sitting outside in the balcony of our apartment where I always felt inspired. Looking back at it now, I really am not sure why on earth I felt inspired there, we lived in the city so it was always very noisy. Baghdad is a city of 5+ million residents, at least when I live there, so it’s a MAJOR city. Noise is normal in a city of that size. But I guess I always felt inspired in the balcony cause it reminded me of safer times when I was a kid and used to play out in the balcony when we had no electricity.
Anyway, Back to the Flow State.
I was outside with my books and I always loved Biology. So I started studying for the exam and before you know it, it was almost 2 PM. That’s when my mom came to check on me.
My mom is the KINDEST woman on earth. She came and told me “Hey Zane, do you need anything honey? You’ve been out for almost 8 straight hours and you haven’t even taken a bathroom break”. My mom is very thoughtful, she knows how serious I am about my studies, so she never disturbed me whenever I was studying but apparently 8 hrs of non-stop studying concerned her.
I Couldn’t Believe When She Said It’s 2 PM. I Was Like No Way! I Just Got Here…
I was in such a state of disbelieving that I went to our living room to see the clock and low and behold it was 2 PM.
I was like, what on earth!?
At the time, I was in Baghdad. I had no idea what a flow state was. But I knew one thing which is whatever I have experienced on that day, I wanted to experience it again. Especially when it’s around a topic many would consider boring like studying for an exam. I experienced that state before but it was always during play, like doing a puzzle, or coloring or playing house with my cousins. Yes, kids play “House” in Iraq too, LOL! But to experience that during studying was fascinating.
When I was 15 in Iraq, the year was 2001 to the best of my knowledge. There was no internet in Iraq at the time. There was one big library but I didn’t have the proper access to go there as I grew up in what you can call the slums of Baghdad.
So long story short, I couldn’t find out more about this AMAZING state that I just experienced till I was well into my mid-twenties when I watched a Ted Talk by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called Flow, the secret to happiness.
Please Watch This Talk, It’s the Best 18-Minute Time Investment!
So back to when I was 15, I didn’t know what that state was called, but one thing I was sure of which was I wanted to experience that again.
So as a 15-year old I thought, I gotta recreate the same situation that might have triggered the state.
I kept at it but always came short. Then one day it hit me, maybe the day I had that state was a day that I was flowing instated of me trying to will myself to enter the state “No pun intended”.
That’s When I Had a Breakthrough, So I Recreated the Day I Had.
I got up, made my cup of black tea and took my books and went to the balcony without an agenda to enter the state. This time it was a Chemistry exam and BOOOOOM!
5 hours later, my brother this time came to see what the heck I was doing. He said “Zane, you look so intense and relaxed at the same time”, he then asked what I was doing out in the balcony staring at a book.
He honestly thought I was looking at dirty magazines, LOL! He was like no one looks at a chemistry book for that long so he came to inspect my book. I love my brother. He’s one of my best friends and now is an AMAZING Father, DJ and still my best friend.
So, That’s When I Learned That to Enter the State of Flow, All I Gotta Do Is Immerse Myself in Something That I Enjoy.
It could be for play or for work, for as long as you enjoy it, you’ll enter the state.
I learned to be patient. To have no agenda, and to simply just focus on the work or task at hand.
I entered the flow state many many times over the past 15 years. I enter the state pretty much on a daily basis now.
If the Topic of the Flow State Fascinates You Then I Have Good News for You.
I want to share with you guys ways that can help you enter the state. I’ll share with you the ways that I learned on my journey to help me remain focused and to enter the state effortlessly. I hope you’re excited. So let’s dive in:
1. Be Present
One thing I learned on my journey, that to enter the flow state at will, you must be present. If you’re wondering what do I meant by that, let me explain. If you have an important task at hand and you want to do it with excellence then being overwhelmed or running your thought patterns like crazy won’t help as that’ll only make you feel more anxious and out of control. Before I do any important task, I intentionally stop, take 5 deep belly breaths from the nose with a big exhale from the mouth and then dive in.
2. Be Intentional
To enter the flow state faster, have a goal. The brain is a goal-oriented machine. So whenever I want to enter the state, I set a goal that excites me and get to work. I don’t stop to think or ponder. The key is to just “do. I plan what I get to do but I don’t rigidly dictate the steps. I give my brain a task and let it execute, with me just observing. More like a pilot who’s flying a plane on autopilot. I let my brain autopilot the task but I remain present and intentional so my brain won’t jump around to other things. If you haven’t heard of the term “The monkey brain”, please know it is real! And if you wanna understand it better, check out this TED talk on the topic on “Your Monkey Brain”
3. Be Prepared
The one thing that I attribute to my big success in entering the flow state often is I am always prepared. Before a task, I get everything I need for that task and keep it close by so I won’t get disrupted every time I need something to get the task complete. If the task is done on a PC, that means disabling my notifications, closing all tabs on my browsers, putting my phone on DND “Do Not Disturb” and just focus on the task at hand. Nothing snaps you out of the flow state than stopping every time you need something for a specific task. I get so prepared that I have water nearby, a snack in my desk drawer. Keep my phone on charge as that seems to be my brain’s monkey moment which is “Always wondering if the phone might be out of juice and I’ll be disconnected from the world.”. So get prepared.
4. Be Conscious
I set my environment for winning. I eliminate distractions. I play some soft music or alpha brainwaves tracks – here’s a Spotify playlist that I love and have helped me enter the state so many times. In addition, I choose lyric- free music as I don’t want my mind to get triggered by a specific song or lyric.
Another thing I love doing is to have some essential oils diffused while working. This allows me to remain conscious as I work on my tasks.
So guys, here you have 4 ways that’ll set you up to win on your strive to become more flowing in your life. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you and everyone to enter this state often. Research from Harvard confirmed that people who enter the flow state often report higher levels of joy, happiness, and productivity.
Simply put, entering the flow state often makes you happier, more creative and productive.
The Takeaway!
To experience more creativity, happiness, and joy, start entering the flow state often. This is backed by science now!
So what are you waiting for? Go out and get your “Flow State” on today!
With love, light, and gratitude,
Zane
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