what's the first thing that comes to your mind ? A lot of you might say

well , I'll be happy when i'm rich , I'll be happy after watching this new movie

Or an example could be a friend of mine .when a New iPhone or a computer comes out

he'd be the first one to buy it , seriously like he would buy every single phone that comes out

i couldn't understand why so I asked him: why did you buy that phone the old one works fine right ?

he would say something like : well it has these new Apps on

it's expensive , it feels good ! it feels good to buy something new !

And i'm like : good luck with that but none of it is going to fill that void inside your heart

the joy you feel from having more stuff is an unsustained happiness based on external stimulus

Mihay Csikszentmihalyi discovered that the only way

you could experience true happiness is by altering your state of consciousness

how can we alter our state of consciousness then? Csikszentmihalyi says that the only way to achieve that

is by entering a state of optimal experience called FLOW.

because our default state of mind is characterized by complete desorder

self-doubt self-consciousness fear and jealousy , Flow seems to bring order

in consciousness , making all of that self critique and mental chatter disappear.

when it's ON(flow) a person can feel true ecstasy and forget about all

the unpleasant aspects of life . in flow time seems to dilate(distort) fascinating isn't it ?

you've probably experienced this yourself when you're working on a project . you start working

and BAM! six hours By Without Even Noticing. Steven kotler add's on to that(mihaly's research)

saying that , in flow , parts of our Prefrontal cortex SHUTDOWN

from that we experience heightened attention , loss of self , our information processing speeds up

in other words flow shortens our path to mastery , enabling you to cultivate

Any Skill , Much faster :)

now let's look at some triggers Csikszentmihalyi cited in his book(flow)

to help you ease your way into the flow channel.

taking any kind of social risk or challenge such as exposing yourself image to rejection , is the easiest way

to get into the zone . now you don't want that risk to be too high otherwise you'll freak out and quit .

it must be about 4% higher than your skill levels yes just 4% and

you'll find yourself in flow . this analogy of social risks is also

applicable to any kind of creative work whether you're into writing , playing music or Boxing.

The main idea is to increase the challenge every time you get better

Don't repeat the same boring activities every day. this is how you maintain

A life of continuous flow and constant ecstasy . in the rise of superman

Steven Kotler shows us how we can HACK into a flow state by using external triggers

the first external trigger is novelty and unpredictability :

navigating into unknown experiences heightens our attention so on a predictability trigger

could be a walk in the woods , exploring a cave , traveling to another country

Or even talking to a stranger. the second external trigger is deep embodiment :

it requires overwhelming the brain with action until it's thinking part

shuts down from over processing information an example for deep embodiments could be :

an intensive workout session , performing complicated martial art Moves

or any kind of physical activity that requires focusing attention and exerting lots of physical effort

now you're probably wondering why do I have to take risks ?

why do I have to challenge myself to get into the zone ?

well here's why : Steven goes deep in his research on "flow hacking"

by revealing the science of neuroelectricity and neurochemistry behind flow

with his research you are now able to know what happens exactly

inside the brain and the body when you're in the zone and why you need these

challenges to get into the flow . he says that even though flow is always a

positive experience, it starts with an unpleasant phase called ''struggle''

You start the struggle phase by overwhelming the Brain with information as we said before

for an athlete it could be a performance that demands lot's of

physical training , for a writer it could be trying out new vocabulary

the struggle phase brings up frustration and the release of stress hormones such as

cortisol and adrenaline .. emotionally we feel adrenaline as .. fear .

it's the fight-or-flight response either you accept the struggle which equals flow on the long run(in the future)

or you resist the obstacle by quitting. adrenaline primes the body for

a flow state , so the next time you feel that Fear rising up in your stomach

that's a good sign .. it's a signal that a flow state is coming

the second phase is release it's triggered the moment you accept the struggle

and stop resisting it , in release the stress chemicals are replaced with

relaxation chemicals like dopamine and endorphins.. underneath release comes flow

it sneaks up on you..while you're struggling with your task or risk .

in flow , performance goes through the roof you'll experience heightened attention

as we said , and increased mental and physical abilities , now there's something else

You need to know before you move on to our final stage. the DURATION of a flow state

varies from task to task :for example a flow state triggered by a twenty-minute meditation

session won't last as long as a flow experience that's triggered by skydiving

exercising or hiking same goes for a intensity , Our Fourth Stage is recovery

from all these chemicals produced in the body and all that fast processing of information

flow leaves us in a state of total exhaustion ; recovery is an

unpleasant phase as a RE-Activision process of several brain parts

it's the transition from Superman to normal reality :)

Csikszentmihalyi says that Any lapse in concentration will ERASE flow

If that happens you have to repeat the cycle again so keep that in mind

he says that by stretching skills, by reaching toward higher challenges , such person

becomes increasingly extraordinary individuals