High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 570: How to Get in Flow More Often

Episode Date: October 9, 2023

Think about a time that you were in flow. What did your flow zone feel like? What led to that feeling? What were you doing? Why do these particular activities lead to flow for you?   Finding your flow zone starts with your mind and channeling your focus to the present moment. Your mind is a muscle; it takes daily practice to master it. In this episode, Cindra talks about three things you can do to increase your chances of getting into the flow.    Power Phrase this Week: “I find my flow and do what I love.”   Quote of the Week:  “The happiest people spend much time in the state of flow.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Hi friends, my name is Dr. Sindra Kampoff, a national leader in the field of sport and performance psychology. Every week I'm on the local radio sharing my top tips on exactly how to develop the mindset of the world's best so you can accomplish all your dreams. Get ready for a jammed packed episode focused on practical tips to help you get after your goals and step out of your comfort zone. Let's go. Time to check in with Cinder Kampoff. We talk about how to get in the flow more often. Cinder, start us off with a quote. I love this quote by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and he said, the happiest people spend much time in the state of flow. The state of flow is what we're talking about. So what inspired the topic?

Well, what inspired the topic is actually just us thinking about what do you enjoy so much that you forget about all your worries? And what are you doing when really time flies for you? So chances are that when you're doing it, you're experiencing flow. And the author that I quoted in this quote is a guy named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He's a psychologist and the best-selling author of a book called Flow. And he discovered that, you know, many years of researching creativity and performance that really the secret to optimal performance of successful people in their ability to reach the flow state, which is the ultimate, you know, optimal experience.

When you're still absorbed in an activity that you enjoy, it just really feels effortless. And what does the research say about flow? What the research shows is that when you're experiencing flow, you're more likely to be satisfied in your work and you can maintain energy. Flow is also the state where you're so involved in the activity that nothing really else matters. And it's enjoyable that you love it and You do it even at the greatest cost just for the pure sake of doing it. And what's interesting, Lisa, is that flow is also connected to performing at your best. And when you're likely to experience flow more often, there's certain things that you can do to experience it more often. So what is one thing we can do to experience it? Well, the first thing you could do is choose an activity that's

challenging, but not too challenging. So for example, there's an author named Stephen Kotler. He wrote a book called The Rise of the Superman. And he suggests that the challenging activity should be kind of 4% beyond your current skill level, because the brain releases neurochemicals like dopamine when you're really pushing yourself. In other words, you want to challenge yourself a little by slightly moving out of your comfort zone and that's what's going to lead to flow. And what's the second thing we can do to experience flow more often? The second thing you can do is to set a clear goal but focus on what's called the process

or the small steps to get there. And that's really important to experiencing flow. So you want to think about something that you, you know, that you're sure that you're for sure that you want, not something you feel obligated to do. But once you get clear on that objective, you want to focus on the small step to trying to get there. But, you know, Olympic and elite athletes know this the best, that when they think about winning or scoring or getting first place, actually their performance quickly declines.

So you want to stay focused on the process in the present moment and that's where flow is more likely to happen. What about a third thing we can do? The third thing you could do is really work to stay focused and concentrated on the task at hand. You know, you might think even throughout your day and at your work that multitasking is assistant, but you know, it's impossible to stay as fully focused on two things at once. So dividing your attention makes flow impossible. Just as your productivity can decrease. So for us to experience flow, we need to be in a distraction-free environment and feel like we have control over what we're doing. All right. Do you have a final point for us today? Yeah, the final point would just be for you to think about a time that you were in the flow

and what does, you know, flow really feel like to you? What led to you feeling that? And what were you doing? And why were those particular activities leading to flow for you? And I think that gives you a lot of information about yourself and what you enjoy because finding your flow starts with your mind and challenging yourself to be focused in the present. And your mind is like a muscle. It takes daily practice to master it. So can you tell us this week's power phrase?

I like this one. It goes like this. I find my flow and do what I love. That sounds like a perfect place to be. Where do we find you if we want to get more information on your books or your teachings? Absolutely. You can head over to Dr. Sindra. So D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A dot com. And I have a chapter in both of my books about flow that outlines some of the things we talked about today. Way to go for finishing another episode of the high performance mindset. I'm giving you a virtual fist pump. Holy cow, did that go by way too fast for anyone else?

If you want more, remember to subscribe and you can head over to Dr. Sindhra for show notes and to join my exclusive community for high performers where you get access to videos about mindset each week. So again, you can head over to Dr. Sindhra. That's D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A.com. See you next week.