129: Steven Kotler - Achieving Flow State and The Science Behind It
The Natural State with Dr. Anthony Gustin
Dr. Anthony Gustin
4.7 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 1 February 2021
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If you’ve ever wondered about flow state, including how to get there and the science behind it, Steven Kotler, also known as The Flow Guy, has the answers you’ve been looking for.
Steven’s a best-selling author who has written several great books, many of which are focused on flow, and he’s here to share his incredible knowledge on the topic in this podcast episode.
Steven and Dr. Anthony Gustin discuss topics ranging from what is flow, what are the perks of being in this state, whether or not anyone can achieve it, and what you can do to trigger a flow state.
They also dive into the evolutionary aspect of flow state, how it affects your brain chemistry, and what you can do if you’re dealing with a crisis or you’re in a normal state and trying to tap into flow.
They also touch on how flow states affect type A personalities, how Steven approaches flow in his own life, and the difference between macro and micro flow states.
On top of being a New York Times best-selling author, Steven Kotler is an award-winning journalist and leading expert on human performance.
He’s written thirteen books, nine of which became best-sellers, and he’s been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes.
He’s also appeared in over 100 publications and he’s now the co-host of the podcast the Flow Research Collective.
To say Steven knows a thing or two about flow state would be an understatement -- he truly is an expert in the field.
Tune into the episode now to learn everything there is to know about flow state, including the research behind it.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today I welcome to the show Stephen Kotler who is a phenomenal author and he has written |
| 0:10.7 | tons of books but has been most focused on flow. |
| 0:15.2 | And flow is what happens when you get to an effortless state of focus where there's |
| 0:20.9 | time less. |
| 0:21.9 | Stephen can go on and define he's much better at it than I am. |
| 0:25.5 | But this is something that, you know, I'm thinking more about mental health these days, |
| 0:29.1 | how many people back to the center and this is a very good tangent here. |
| 0:32.1 | This is a comment that I noticed actually hunting. |
| 0:34.8 | And I think there's a lot of ancestral precedence to being able to be in a state of flow. |
| 0:39.4 | I mean, we're so focused all the time looking at our devices and not really present but |
| 0:44.5 | still busy for some reason. |
| 0:46.7 | And Stephen breaks down a lot of these misconceptions and talks about how you can get such |
| 0:50.4 | and dramatic impact on your health, productivity, et cetera, by harnessing a state of flow. |
| 0:56.4 | So tune in to this one with Stephen, take some notes, check out his new book, The Art of |
| 0:59.6 | Impossible, and enjoy the podcast. |
| 1:03.0 | This episode is brought to you by White Oak Pastures, a fully regenerative form based |
| 1:07.1 | out of Bluffton, Georgia. |
| 1:08.1 | If you guys don't know how obsessed I am about regenerative agriculture, you probably |
| 1:11.8 | haven't been around listening to this podcast for a long time. |
| 1:15.0 | This is a type of forming that mimics natural ecosystems to restore the loss of soil, biodiversity, |
| 1:19.6 | investible, pulling carbon out of the atmosphere. |
| 1:21.9 | I recently actually just purchased a form here in Texas to start learning about this myself, |
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