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WINNING WITH FLOW
Patrick, a member of our community, struggled constantly with ADHD and an inability to focus. It had been a problem for him throughout his life. He was easily distracted, or, in the reverse, he was hyperfocused to the detriment of everything and everyone around him. He even experienced this during his Brazilian jujitsu tournaments. He had difficulty deciding which technique to use with opponents and felt as though he was trying to use every move at once, even though many of them weren’t appropriate for the situation. His inability to focus affected his work, his family life, and his favorite sport, and he felt a high level of stress nearly all the time.
Then one day he started listening to episodes of my podcast, where he heard about the stages of flow (which we will get to in a moment), as well as several other high-performance habits. Patrick applied what he was learning to his everyday life and saw immediate results. He was finally able to identify and understand what he was struggling with, and he immersed himself in his pursuits more fully than ever before. Finding flow was the key.
In his next tournament, Patrick was able to release his intense focus and take his mind off the problems that had distracted him in the past. He found his flow quickly . . . and felt like he was in The Matrix; he could see his opponent’s moves coming before they happened. Even better, he was able to find flow in other areas of his life too. The better he did in his martial arts tournaments, the better he did in life. Patrick finally felt a release from the stress that dogged him endlessly, at last believing that he could let go and enjoy his life more.

THE FOUR STAGES OF FLOW

The flow state has a predictable arc to it. Our podcast guest, Steven Kotler, founder of the Flow Research Collective and the author of The Rise of Superman, has identified the four stages of flow:⁴

Stage 1: Struggle

This is when you’re digging deep to access whatever it is that you need to reach the flow state. It could be a workout regimen, extensive research, an intense bout of brainstorming, or anything else that you are focusing on. Warning: This often feels like a struggle and, in fact, the opposite of flow.

Stage 2: Relaxation

This is the break you take before fully diving into flow. It is an essential step, as it keeps you from burning out over the struggle you’ve just been through. This break—a walk, some breathing, anything that helps you relax
—is decidedly different from a distraction such as moving on to another task or checking sports scores.

Stage 3: Flow

This is the stage that Kotler describes as “the superman experience.” This is that flow state that hopefully you’ve experienced at various points in your life, where you’re doing your absolute best work and it almost seems to be happening automatically.

Stage 4: Consolidation

In this final stage you pull together everything you accomplished during the flow stage. Often, this is accompanied by feeling somewhat let down. All kinds of positive chemicals have been running through your brain while you’re in flow, and now that high is ending. But another cycle can be waiting just around the corner.
Kotler believes that finding flow is the “source code” of motivation. When you find flow, you get “maybe the most potent dose of reward chemistry” your brain can give you—which is the reason he believes flow is the most addictive state on Earth. Once we start to feel flow in an experience, we are motivated to do what it takes to get more. But it’s a circular relationship—if you have motivation to accomplish a task but you have no flow, you will eventually burn out. Motivation and flow need to work together, and they must be coupled with a solid recovery protocol, like good sleep and nutrition.