Three Elements

The three words, as concepts, spring from the page and ensnare my attention like a mongoose making his lethal move towards the cobra. Fuck this is good, I manage to say, feeling like a sportscaster calling the desperate final drive of a team fighting the opposition as well as the clock. There is a dynamic tension here creating big drama. And I like it. There is no margin for error. One must, all must, be so completely in sync and willing to sacrifice everything for the cause, which in this case is metaphorical, that a rare focus empowers, motivates and moves through each with a vibrantly magical current of energy. It is lazer-like and unmistakable. In popular sports vernacular it is called momentum, mojo the slang. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly (if you have been following the thread) is the underlying component of this state of hyper awareness. It is widely misunderstood and underutilized. This because it is so mysterious and esoteric. It is difficult to measure and hard to quantify.

Its name is flow.

That state we enter when our physical work load, speed, power, strength and stamina all occupy the central stage in our hypothalamus, and mix there with the precise amount of organic chemicals the body releases to sustain this fluid and dynamic effort, under the benevolent and ethereal supervision of the consciousness of our souls. This is flow.

Perhaps you have felt it once or twice, that incredibly sexy feeling where all cylinders are firing in sequence, almost lifting us from the purgatory of bondage to the ground, where time seems to slow allowing us to witness our awareness and apply mindfulness to soar with the eagles. If we are lucky we take note of this and consider how totally cool it would be to own the power to call upon it on demand. This skill makes the fight or flight response look like child’s play. It is the PHD of athletic endeavor, an advanced class in what we have always called ‘the next level.’

Interestingly, there is now data, research and anecdotal evidence to suggest that we can call upon this phenomena once considered para-normal, by following a secret recipe of sorts. 

But like any worthy curriculum it has prerequisites. Most of you already know of them and have mastered many. They can be capsulized by usage of the answer to the Carnegie Hall directional answer. The prerec for optimal peak experience, what we now call flow state is the same as getting to Mr Carnegie’s hallowed Hall. Practice, practice and practice. 

Practice your speed, improve your strength, learn the nuance, increase your stamina, master your mind and commit to your commitment, to name but a few. One needs to be relentlessly moving towards being both Jack AND Master of all trades.  

That is when the fun begins. It seems that there are three unique and distinct requirements that put us, potentially, closer to this optimal state of flow. They are:

Novelty.

Unpredictability.

Complexity.

You can envision surfing, climbing, sky diving, skiing, BASE jumping, long boarding, sex, music, cinema, literature, masonry or sewing, whichever fills your sheets, but whatever your passion, you will find its optimal flow, your peak experience, only when these three are present. 

Anything less is dull, boring and uninspiring, and oddly dangerous should you win something along the way.