Today I want to address a common question: how do you get into the flow state quickly? Well, it’s quite easy. You jump out of the plane.
Okay, that was a joke. I don't know how well that joke will be received – will it be received okay? I honestly don't know.
But I was actually getting at something important:
(Hey, if you would rather watch me talking about this, check out this video)
Basically, a common way for people to enter the flow state quickly, as you're probably aware, is through extreme sports. That high risk will get people triggered into the flow state. However, you don't need to do anything so radical. You can do other activities to get yourself into the flow state.
Ask yourself the following questions:
How do artists get into the flow state? How do writers get into a flow state? How can a football player get into a flow state?
These professionals are not at high risk. Danger's not facing them. But they have their own way of getting themselves triggered into the flow state.
With that in mind, what I want you to see is this one thing that I feel is very beneficial. It’s about setting yourself up to be in flow. Essentially, it's all about what you do beforehand.
Firstly, I recommend you start doing something today, and that is to start taking a measurement called your Heart Rate Variability. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) will tell you where your nervous system's at when you're going to perform your task, your skill, your activity, your sport, your profession.
Let me briefly explain. You have a sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
These are in other words known as your fight-or-flight system and your rest-and-digest system. When you’re in flow, it’s a cohesive balance between those two. There's a consistent push and pull going on between those two nervous systems. Heart rate variability will tell you if your body is in a perfect rest state, and how that applies for you in a day-to-day situation.
If you are not resting correctly, your body will be in a stressed kind of state, which means your body will probably have more cortisol in your system. You might have a sort of cloudiness in your head. You might have injuries and illnesses, sometimes ones that you are not even fully aware of.
If you set your day up by trying to get into flow state, and by performing an activity that you do to generally get into the flow state, but your system happens to be down, or it’s starting from a different level of balance between the two nervous systems, then you are not going to be performing in an optimal way.
So you should adapt to the instrument that you've woken up within the morning. Ask yourself if the tool that you have woken up with on that day the right one to get yourself into the flow state. If you are, for example, more sympathetic, then you need to do activities that are parasympathetic-inducing. If you are sympathetic, which means you’re working in the fight-or-flight mode, then you need to do activities that keep you grounded, pull you down, calm you down.
On the other hand, if you're more parasympathetic, in the rest-and-digest mode, then you need a kick up the ass. You need to do activities that pull you back up, and to become more sympathetic.
Either way, you have to tune into the fact that you're going to have to adapt to the instrument you're using that day. Some activities will demand you to relax more, while other activities will demand you to engage more. So, by having an awareness of your heart rate variability, and working from what's called your heart rate variability baseline, you will not only tune into your instrument, but you will allow yourself to open up to the potential of getting triggered and into the flow. To learn more, read my previous article: The Heart of Flow: Learn about your Heart Rate Variability (HRV).
If you have any questions please leave a comment and I'll get back to you, or you can email me directly.
Cheers for reading,
Wilson
Ps. I’m now opened up my elite flow chain group. Where I personally coach you in the flow state. If your interested check out this page. => Get personally coached by Wilson
