One of the Greatest Physicists of all
time, Albert Einstein, explained in one of the
letters he wrote to his son, how he could
maximize learning capabilities and achieve
so much more than any other expert in
his field.
He wrote that the way to learn the most
is when you're doing something with such
enjoyment that you don't notice that the
time passes. Einstein added that he
sometimes used to get so wrapped up and
lost in his work that he even forgot about
his meals.
Haven't we all experienced this? While reading a
book or playing a musical instrument
or grooving to our favorite song. Getting so
engaged that we're completely lost. We're
simply enjoying what we're doing. This
blissful state of mind is what
psychologists call the FLOW. The term
flow was coined by Hungarian psychologist
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. When our mind is
in the state of Flow or the Zone, all our
attention gets intensely concentrated.
We get completely lost in what we're
doing and just as Einstein said we don't
even notice that the time passes. While
in Flow, our mind is at its productive
best. Many musicians, filmmakers and
scientists have gotten their best ideas
while in this state. But this particular
level of concentration is not always
there. Right?
It's fleeting! So how can we achieve this
state of mind, the Flow, at will?
There are three techniques through which we
can easyly train the mind to achieve
flow.
Let's begin with the first one!
Before you begin any task, ask yourself
these three questions -
What's the goal? Is it too easy? or Is it
too difficult? If the task is too easy
for your skill level, you might get bored
and start procrastinating and hence will
not be able to Flow. The solution is
simple. Make the task a little more
challenging and interesting. For example,
if you're watching a boring lecture, just
double its speed and you will notice how
your concentration level shoots up! You
can even make everyday tasks more
interesting simply by challenging
yourself. Now, if the task is too hard, you
might get anxious and being too anxious
means more focus will be on the outcome
which results in divided concentration.
In order to achieve flow in this case
break your tasks into smaller parts and
try to finish the easy part first as
this will help you gain momentum and you will
realize how easy the task became after
breaking it into smaller targets.
One of the biggest myths associated with
Flow is that our mind needs to be
hyperactive in order to achieve it but on the
contrary experiments have shown that our
minds tend to slow down when we're in the
state of Flow. This is why meditation and deep
breaths before doing a task can help us
focus better. These activities help calm
down our mind and prepare it to
concentrate better and thus help us
achieve Flow. Studies have shown that
people with certain personality traits
have better chance of achieving Flow. If
you are a curious, passionate and low
self-centered person then you might have
a better chance of achieving Flow than an
average person. Also, Flow depends on the type
of task of performing. If your task
involves risk, unpredictability or
complexity, then you have a better chance
of achieving Flow. The same is also true
if your work involves creativity or
novelty.
If you're passionate about your work
then the chances of achieving Flow are way
higher. So always try and evoke passion
for whatever you do. We always need to
concentrate. Learning a new musical
instrument, delivering a presentation or
excelling at our favorite sport,
Flow can help us learn and achieve any
target faster just like Albert Einstein.
If you liked this video hit the thumbs
up below and subscribe to The Curious
Heads for more such videos. Thanks for
watching and Always be Curious!
