Triggers play a crucial role in helping with the onset of flow states by helping individuals initiate focused attention, enhance their motivation, establish predictable routines and patterns, thereby reducing the load of the conscious mind and facilitating the activation of flow-inducing conditions. By recognizing and using the triggers that have been involved in your experiences of flow, you maximise your chances of experiencing it again.
It is important to remember that not all of the following triggers need to be present or fully present to achieve micro-flow, but the more that are fully present the deeper the flow experience will be.
APPROACH TRIGGERS:
1. You have clear goals – Clear goals are essential for achieving flow because they provide the necessary structure and direction for focused engagement in your sport both in training and in competition. When you have clear goals, you know what you are striving for and you can then channel your attention and efforts accordingly. This clarity helps to establish a sense of purpose and motivation, which are crucial components of flow.
2. You know what is required to succeed – The task should be clear and unambiguous, allowing you to focus your attention without uncertainty or ambiguity. Clear tasks provide a sense of structure and direction making it easier to channel efforts effectively… before you go out to qualify or race you must know exactly what you need to do.
3. The activity aligns with your passions and strengths and provides you with intrinsic enjoyment - The activity must give you a feeling of optimal enjoyment, something that makes you happy, something that is deeply intriguing and something you would do anyway just for the fun of it, even outside of a competitive setting.
ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS:
As racing drivers, how we experience flow is very different depending on the environment that we are in, is some cases it is triggered by rhythm over a longer period and at other times it is triggered by short term, high intensity.
1. Rhythm based flow – We would normally experience this on longer runs such as in testing or in races where the mind becomes highly synchronised with the process of driving and conscious control is surrendered to the unconscious mind and we find ourselves dropping into a relaxed flow. In this situation, pressure could be at a lower level but present moment absorption and concentration would be at a very high level.
2. Intensity based flow – This would normally be experienced in high pressure situations such as qualifying where due to the short nature of the run and the high level of pressure it would be very difficult to just drop into a relaxed flow. In this case pressure is the predominant energy and the level of pressure has to be matched by the level of intensity, absorption and concentration would still be at a high level but it is the intensity level that forces the driver into the present moment and as a result micro flow is experienced. This is much harder to achieve that rhythm based flow but it is at a much higher premium due to the importance of qualifying.
SKILL TRIGGERS:
1. You are highly skillful with a high degree of automaticity - When you possess the necessary competence to meet the demands of a task, you are better equipped to immerse yourself fully in the experience (there is no need to think about what you are doing). This leads to the profound sense of absorption and satisfaction characteristic of flow states.
2. The challenge matches your skill level (the challenge/skills balance) - Flow occurs when the level of challenge presented by the activity matches your skill level (or slightly outside our ability 5%). The task should be challenging enough to stretch your abilities but not so difficult that it causes trying, frustration or anxiety. Flow occurs in the corridor between ‘too much’ and ‘too little’ as in the diagram below:
MENTAL TRIGGERS:
1. You have a superior ability to focus on task in the present moment - Flow requires intense concentration and focused attention on the task at hand. You must be able to immerse yourself fully in the moment, blocking out distractions and maintaining a state of deep engagement and concentration.
2. You have high levels of self-belief – Your purposeful practice in training will have resulted high levels of self-belief and self-confidence. The equation for trust is Time x Behavior = Trust. You trust yourself and your ability, this makes you comfortable facing challenges and taking risks. You ‘earn’ the ability to Trust yourself by doing hard things over a period of time.
3. You have very low levels of doubt – Doubt, the opposite of self-belief activates the conscious mind, and occurs when we believe the challenge to be greater than our skill (you then try and think your way out of the challenge). High levels of self-belief derived through purposeful practice eliminates doubt about your ability to perform.
4. You have a high/optimal level of intensity - Activities that require high levels of concentration, physical exertion, or risk-taking… for us qualifying, may elicit flow due to the heightened focus and engagement required to meet the demands of the task.
5. You know your ideal peak state – No only do you need to know your peak state, you must be able to find it and maintain it. Ideally you operate in a very narrow corridor between under and over-driving. The more you under or over drive the more conscious though is used, which drives away flow. And it is conscious thought that drivers away flow.
6. You shift your mindset from threat to challenge – As a result of stress exposure training, challenge and pressure bring the best out of you. The more challenge and pressure the better you focus.
7. You have a fundamental commitment to risk and danger - Caution due to its connection with the conscious thinking mind is the enemy of flow. Athletes who take part in extreme sports (motor racing can included in this) are likely to experience flow more often as concentration on the task in hand is essential to avoid accidents and injury. A samurai in the past would have no doubt have need to experience at least micro-flow if he was to stay alive against a worthy opponent, any conscious trying to strike would have resulted in immediate death.
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