When I turned 30, I decided to focus the next ten years of my life on the exploration of one topic - flow state. Often referred to as ‘being in the zone’ or being ‘in flow’, the concept has been around for centuries.
One question was on my mind when I reached 30. If I were to focus the next ten years of my life, what would I focus on?
Answering this question, I began my journey. I decided to stop doing startups. I decided to go all in. I stopped doing everything and isolated myself to think. It was the most confusing, yet most serene time of my life. I saw myself living a life that I wanted. I saw myself hacking flow. I saw myself helping others achieve this illusive state.
Only recently have we began to identify the triggers of flow and use science to help us achieve flow. Only recently has the science caught up to the phenomena of the experience.
We’ve all felt what it’s like to be in the zone. We’ve all experienced this magical state where we lose all track of time, we lose track of ourselves and we are operating, performing, doing something in complete immersion. This state was defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as the ‘flow state’.
I asked myself how would I best use the time I have going forward. Is it possible to structure my life around flow? The answer to that question, lead me to change my beliefs and my habits. I realized that I was on auto-pilot and that I needed to take control of myself and align my life towards achieving flow.
I also understood that flow is an illusive state. I understood that flow is transient. It comes and it goes, depending on the conditions. I understood that chasing flow may be just that. But I also saw the potential to create a new life for myself, even if it means achieving flow only some part of the time. I realized that the pursuit of flow is in itself a reward.
I thought long and hard about how I can apply flow to my life. Was it possible to create a new vocation for myself based on the idea of the flow state? I decided to call myself a Flow Hacker, a person who dedicates his or her life to the pursuit of the flow state. I knew I would face some confusion (insert flow and hacker jokes here) from the public. I knew that I would face some resistance (insert more jokes here). But I also knew that given enough time, I would create the world I defined in my head.
As the result, I am announcing the launch of Flow Hackers, a community for hackers, high-performers, and athletes who are seeking to achieve more flow in their lives.
You can sign up for early access to Flow Hackers on flowhackers.io