Beer Goggles #7 - The Flow (S)Tate
We're going on a quest.
What is the meaning of life?
Well to paraphrase Viktor Frankl a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, ‘what is the meaning of life?’ is not a question we as humans should dare to ask of the universe, but rather a question that is our responsibility to answer. Frankl suggests that we must do this through our actions, relationships with others, and our attitude towards suffering. Frankl developed these ideas after examining how he and those around him responded to and endured the incredible hardships of WWII concentration camps. This went on to become his book Man’s Search for Meaning and went on to establish Logotherapy, a type of psychotherapy.
In this article I am going to attempt to explore the first of Frankl’s approaches to this existential quest, our actions.
To do this I need to introduce the concept of Flow State. The term is used in positive psychology to describe moments of rapt attention, total absorption, and intense focus. It can feel as though everything else disappears and time dilates as you propel yourself through the task at hand.
Pretty exciting stuff, I am sure you will agree.
When I first heard of the Flow State, I became somewhat obsessed and wanted to learn how to enter the ’zone?’ and whether or not I would be able to do it at will. Studies have shown that Flow is easiest to attain by managing the challenge-skills balance. Whereby the best conditions to enter the Flow Sate are when the task at hand is slightly more challenging than our skill level at that task.
When combining this idea with Frankl’s thoughts introduced at the start of this article, I argue that to answer the grandest of all questions might come through a relentless pursuit of Flow.
For me I am lucky enough to have found surfing and playing guitar as tasks that I enjoy and am committed to improving at, with the hopes that I can use them as platforms to enter the Flow State. Of course, not everyone has been fortunate enough to have found their great passion(s) yet, but Flow can come from many different sources whether it be your career, or engaging with friends, so I encourage you to look back at your life and try to think of times you have experienced Flow. Additionally, there is joy to be found in being curious and exploring or discovering new tasks until you find one or a few that stick. After all you can’t discover who you are in a vacuum, go get some air.
Once you have found a passion there then comes the long and sometimes arduous mission to achieve mastery. On your journey you will encounter plateaus of progress, highs of feigned confidence and even raggedy canyons that make you feel as though you are going backwards. But if you persist, if you relish these obstacles and keep chasing Flow, then you will never have to worry about the fruits of your labour, because the labours themselves will be far sweeter.
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