I’m reading, The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler. I’m
also listening to Kotler on episode number 873 of the Joe Rogan
podcast. Steven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author
and the cofounder/director of the Flow Genome Project. He is one of
the world’s leading experts on ultimate human performance. The Rise
of Superman explores what the upper limits of human possibilities
might be. In 2013, The Rise of Superman was the first book in history
to land on the national bestseller lists in the sports, science, and
business categories simultaneously.
So
what is Flow? Kotler says,”Flow is an optimal state of
consciousness, a peak state where we both feel our best and perform
our best.” Wikipedia defines flow like this, “In positive
psychology, flow, also know as the zone, is the mental state of
operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed
in the feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in
the process of the activity, In essence, flow is characterized by
complete absorption in what one does.”
The psychological concept of Flow was named by Hungarian psychologist
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Csikszentmihalyi wrote in his book, Flow:
The Psychology of Optimal Experience, “...is a state of
concentration of complete absorption with the activity at hand and
the situation. It is a state in which people are so involved in an
activity that nothing else seems to matter.” Csikszentmihalyi laid
out nine component states of achieving Flow, “challenge-skill
balance, merging of action and awareness, clarity of goals, immediate
and unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task at hand, paradox
of control, transformation of time, off of
self-consciousness,
and autolelic (deriving meaning and purpose from within) experience.”
I think it is the Flow that makes OCR so fun and addictive. When I’m
running an obstacle race I lose myself. As you read the list of
states of achieving Flow, you probably notice that many of them are
components of an obstacle race. When approaching an obstacles one has
to quickly assess it and evaluate the challenge and their skill
level. They have to be aware of the conditions of the obstacle and
their action on the obstacles have to match the conditions. Is the
obstacle wet or dry? It is stable or unstable? Obstacle racing
incorporates the all component states of achieving Flow.
On the Joe Rogan Podcast, Kotler describes one of the routines he
does to put himself into Flow. He starts with a 30 minute hike with
his dogs. Exercise and being in nature are two elements that can
start the neurochemicals flowing that are part of Flow. He then does
hill sprints for about seven minutes to get endorphins in his system.
He finishes with running down hill to create a risky situation. The
greater the risk the better the Flow. After he finishes he uses the
Flow state for his writing.
Kotler’s routine for creating Flow is just like running an obstacle
race. Most of the Elite runners show up early and warm up before the
race. They jog around the area and do various warm up exercises. When
the race starts they sprint to the first obstacles. When they reach
the obstacles they encounter the risk. No wonder people can do the
World’s Toughest Mudder, they are repeatedly putting themselves
into Flow.
But you don’t have to be an Elite runner to experience the flow.
Just being outside and walking to the obstacle is enough to start the
Flow experience. When you reach the obstacle it might be difficult
for you and that is enough to get your endorphins to kick in. The
risk is built into a lot of the obstacles. Obstacles require
awareness and focus. Flow follows focus. So even beginners will
experience Flow while running an obstacle race.
One other way to experience flow is in service to others. When are
helping others we lose ourselves in the moment. Some of the obstacles
are really hard to do alone. Some people show up at the race that are
not physically prepared to meet the challenge of the obstacle and
need assistance to make it through the obstacle. Running as a team is
very popular in obstacle racing. Friends and families helping each
other through the obstacles. But it doesn’t end with friends and
families. Strangers helping strangers is also the way some get
through the course and feel the Flow. Group Flow is even more
powerful than individual Flow.
Next time you run an obstacle race think about Flow. Try to have the
best Flow experience you ever had while running the race. Enjoy being
outside and enjoy the exercise. Push yourself physically so that you
get your endorphins pumping. Attack the obstacle in a way that makes
you feel the risk. Don’t walk around scarey obstacles, try them.
Then sprint off to the next obstacles. Keep repeating this cycle
through the race. Enjoy the moment, push yourself and/or help others,
and feel the risk.
