What is a flow state? When you feel it, you know it. It’s an almost effortless ease of action. To define it, you could say it's a feeling of being in control without making any conscious effort to do so, or being completely immersed in an activity with energized focus. In this episode, performance coach Jason Brooks, PhD breaks down the steps to achieving flow and how to get it back when it slips away. 

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We discuss:

• How achieving a flow state is as much about knowing yourself as it is knowing the skill [02:00];
• Michael Jordan’s superpower -- being 100% present in every moment of every game [06:00];
• The nuanced distinction between a flow state and being “in the zone” [07:50];
• The TED talk by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and how a state of “flow” promotes lasting satisfaction [09:20];
• Why training and skill are prerequisites to a flow state [10:50];
• Tools to bring yourself back into an optimal state when distractions hijack your attention [14:45];
• Why having joy in what you do is essential to achieving flow [17:30];
• Self-distraction theory and how that contributes to performance [25:30];
• Ways we can set ourselves up for success to be in a flow state [32:40];
• How practicing basic techniques will give you something to fall back on when you’re lost [44:00];
• Whether it’s better to capitalize on your strengths, or shore up your weaknesses [51:40]; and
• More.