Connect with us

Subscribe

Photo by Bruce Christianson on Unsplash

creativity

What flow state really is and how to access it

In a flow state magic happens. But what exactly is it? And how do we get there?

With the help of a little jazz improvisation, a new neuroimaging study from Drexel University’s Creativity Research Lab discovered it is the combination of ‘expertise and letting go’ that puts us ‘in the zone’.

Using electroencephalograms (EEGs) to measure areas of the brain indicating high-flow states, the researchers recorded 32 guitar players of varying ability levels, and found that musicians with more experience were able to get into a flow state, and more intensely, than those with less experience.

On the practical implications of flow being this equation of ‘expertise + letting go’, John Kounios, PhD, and Creativity Research Lab director, said: “Productive flow states can be attained by practice to build up expertise in a particular creative outlet coupled with training to withdraw conscious control when enough expertise has been achieved. This can be the basis for new techniques for instructing people to produce creative ideas.”

Kounios added: “If you want to be able to stream ideas fluently, then keep working on those musical scales, physics problems or whatever else you want to do creatively—computer coding, fiction writing—you name it. But then, try letting go. As jazz great Charlie Parker said, ‘You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.”

__

Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest innovation news and more sent to your inbox.

Newsletter Signup

Written By

Susan is the co-founder of Innovators Magazine and a consultant for OnePoint5Media. Susan is also a member of the UNFCCC-led Resilience Frontiers Nexus group and the Chair of the APOPO Foundation UK board.

Advertisement

How to become a better innovator

Editor's Picks

How to become a truly regenerative leader

Editor's Picks

New European investors’ network does exactly what it says on the TIN

Editor's Picks

Micro and nano-plastics: The invisible crisis threatening our oceans and our health

Editor's Picks

Connect
Newsletter Signup