The Timelessness of Flow
Flow Business Takeaways:
Flow can strengthen motivation, learning, and creativity
Flow accelerates skill development and growth through challenge
Individual and group flow can increase performance, productivity, and the enjoyment of accomplishing something worthwhile
The HBO series Watchmen plays with time in the most provocative ways. Past, present and future are collapsed as sequences shift from 1921 Tulsa, to present-day Tulsa, to Jupiter’s moon, in a mash-up of chronology that makes your head spin. The theme of playing with time is repeated in captivating ways—the drug “Nostalgia” allows people to re-live someone else’s memories as if they were actually there; in conversation with Angela Abar aka Sister Night (Regina King), Dr. Manhattan aka Cal shares things that have already happened between them and that will happen in the future; Dr. Manhattan answers questions between Angela and her grandfather ten years apart, experiencing multiple points in time simultaneously. He is in a state of timelessness.
Watchmen’s Regina King as Angela Abar aka Sister Night
It was fascinating to watch the shifts of time and place and attempt to make sense of it all, which brings us to this post and our exploration of a way of being that questions what we know about time. Our days are spent watching, planning, waiting, moving, doing, all subject to time as we understand it. The element of time seems elusive, and yet there are moments when our sense of time transforms—when we are in the state called “flow.”
In the Pocket
When jazz musicians are swingin’ or “in the pocket,” they’re totally in sync with each other. They’ve found a groove and connection to each other and the music that transcends individual roles, transforming them into a finely-tuned ensemble of creativity and innovation. When musicians are in the pocket, everything serves the song—energy, timing, rhythm—everything feels just right. When this musical groove is extended, musicians talk about being “deep in the pocket”—everybody playing with finesse. It is not something you just learn—it’s something you become/are. They are in flow.
In his new released jazz love story for the Calm app, Greg has shared an instance of this dynamic feeling when he had the honor of playing with the great Clark Terry at his alma mater, Hamilton College, in 1984. Greg says, “As I stood next to him, I felt a heart/mind meld . . . His state of flow entrained me; my awareness of music and sound forever transformed.”
When You’re in Flow
Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.
—Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
In his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csíkszentmihályi describes flow state as an “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.”
He goes on to say that “Flow also happens when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable, so it acts as a magnet for learning new skills and increasing challenges.” Csíkszentmihályi further explains, “If challenges are too low, one gets back to flow by increasing them. If challenges are too great, one can return to the flow state by learning new skills.”
The Science Behind Flow
Scientists are just beginning to understand the mechanics of the flow state as a neurobiological phenomenon. When we enter a flow state, our brains transition from producing the fast-moving beta brainwaves that define normal waking consciousness to the borderline state between alpha waves, (associated with daydreaming), and theta waves (typically only occur during REM sleep) and the state we experience at the point of falling asleep. While it’s in a flow state, the brain floods itself with large quantities of dopamine, endorphins, serotonin, norepinephrine, and the so-called “bliss molecule” anandamide. The brain is actually slowing down in a state of total absorption, known as transient hypofrontality. This is when the parts of our brain responsible for critical thinking, self-doubt, and anxiety are temporarily deactivated. The separation of one from the other is no longer there, so the feeling of unity and oneness takes over.
Timelessness
The notion of time flying or standing still brings into question our perception of time flowing from the past towards the future. Is this an illusion?
Time is calculated all over the brain, so when areas of the prefrontal cortex shut down, those calculations are no longer made. We concentrate on the present, with energy going towards focus and attention. We take in more data and process it more quickly.
When we are not measuring ourselves against time, simply being, we can be true to ourselves—be authentic. Timelessness can happen in those moments when we stop reliving scenarios from the past and trying to predict what’s around the corner.
When the activity is meaningful, and we are thoroughly engaged, the flow state can actually have long-term effects. The more we flow, the easier it is to get into the state, and the more creative and productive we are.
Flow happens when we are connecting to ourselves and to others, when we are positively challenged, curious, and engaged, and when we feel the meaning in what we’re doing. If time is all we have—then flow with it.
