Why You Can't Stay In Flow Forever

If you want to reach Peak Performance, you must get to Flow States.

In Flow States, you can achieve so much more than outside of them.

Heightened Creativity.

Increased Innovation.

Better Problem Solving.

Plus, you can 5x the average person's Productivity.

Though, the research on that was done before Group Burnout became the norm, so I believe research today would show closer to 10x Employees in Burnout.

So, if this is the Ideal State to be in, shouldn't our Goal be to stay in it... forever?

Well, it doesn't exactly work like that, and we don't really want to be in it forever.

Though some individuals dream of the ability to be Productive 24/7, that just is Not how Humans Function.

Why is that though?

Well, let's look at the Reality of it.

Flow States are what are known as High Energy States.

What does this mean?

Well, our Bodies use a lot of Energy (Mg-ATP) while in Flow.

What is amazing is that our bodies will actually Optimize System Usage "for" Performance though in Flow.

Certain systems in our bodies will turn off so that more Energy (Mg-ATP) can be redirected to specific functions.

This means that our bodies can stay in Flow for pretty good periods of time, but not perpetually.

Energy Usage is higher than Energy Production in Flow which means, eventually, you run out of Steam.

You eventually hit a point where you simply don't have enough Energy to maintain the Flow State.

Where most people end up going wrong here is that they continue to try to "push through", but this creates a dual problem.

First, you are already running low on Energy (Mg-ATP) so it is like trying to force a car to go to another city without gas.

Either the car doesn't move, or you need to get out and push it all the way to the next city.

Except when it comes to Physiology, that means causing Dis-Stress in the Body.

Second, you create significantly More Oxidative Stress for significantly Less Results.

See, with Flow States being a High Energy State, they also create a lot of Exhaust which is known as Oxidative Stress.

Oxidative Stress is also known as Stress Damage.

It acts in our body as a Stressor and will continue to add until you "clean it up".

The only way to clean up Oxidative Stress is through Rest and Recovery.

If you "push through" you are adding more Oxidative Stress onto the already high levels created from the Flow State.

Over time, this essentially turns your body into a Disgusting Landfill of Stress Damage.

If you do not clean up the Oxidative Stress, then you will put your body into further and further levels of Dis-Stress which will Block your from Flow States.

Basically, when we have too many Stressors, we become unable to "Release" which is an essential part of the Flow Cycle.

If there is no Recovery and Cleanup, eventually you hit Burnout.

However, there is another reason that Flow States are not able to last forever.

Focus.

See, to maintain a Flow State, you must have Deep Focus on the task at hand.

But if there is "anything" that takes away from your Focus, it can pull you out of Flow States.

The Reality of Life is that you cannot maintain Focus solely on one thing Perpetually.

You have a lot of other things you must do to take care of yourself to be Healthy... not to mention the inevitable distractions that are simply a part of life.

Humans also need Food, Sleep, Mental Rest, Human Contact and Support, and do other... bodily functions...

If you do not have these things, then you will become Unhealthy.

Flow States are amazing for specific things at specific times, but it isn't "all" of Life.

If you don't have a Healthy Life, then Stressors will add up.

This creates the same problem we had before of Stressors adding up to become Dis-Stress which block us Flow States.

Also, as I mentioned above, certain systems of the body will shut off to maximize Performance in Flow.

However, these systems still have Essential functions in our Lives!

If they are turned off for too long, it will create other, potentially Life Threatening consequences.

You want those to turn back on fairly regularly!

In either situation, the Flow State cannot last for either.

You absolutely do want to have Consistent Flow States, Ideally multiple bouts per day, both at home and at work.

But you can't, and really don't, want to have them forever.

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