Why you’ll want to find your flow state often.
Originally published on Substack on August 11, 2025. https://kellietheridge.substack.com/p/what-is-flow
Flow used to be known as peak performance before Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the phrase flow state, and defined the characteristics of flow. In his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, he describes flow as “An optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.” In its simplest form, that’s what it is, but that definition doesn’t do justice to the way the state can enhance and change our lives in profound ways.
An athlete might describe it as being in the zone. Musicians might say they are in the groove or in the pocket. For me, as a writer, I would describe the flow state as magical.
Here’s what it feels like to me…
As I sit down and begin writing, it can be challenging at first for words to pour out at full speed; instead, they trickle out, with effort. However, a few minutes in and the struggle morphs into momentum and I am launched into sentences, paragraphs, pages. My attention is laser-focused on the notepad, screen, or my fingers flying across the keyboard. The room narrows into what is in front of me and the periphery blurs away all distractions. Extraneous sounds mute around me as I continue to write. That irritating voice of mine that whispers reminders of imposter syndrome shuts up. I don’t worry what critics, friends and family might think of my work at that moment. My mind only has time for word after word after word. I pluck ideas from the ether above my head and pull them into my consciousness and onto the page. It seems as if the words come from beyond me, as if shared lovingly from somewhere else I can’t describe. Everything is effortless, and I have the sense that I am doing exactly what I am meant to do.
And then I come out of the state, hopefully at some natural conclusion. Most often, hours have felt like minutes and so much more time has passed than I imagined. I’ve forgotten my bodily needs and subconsciously ignored its nudges during my flow state. I might be cold, hungry, thirsty, and often my distended bladder is unhappy with me afterwards. I emerge exhausted, but fulfilled.
Later, when I return to the piece for editing, my writing can surprise me. Sometimes I don’t recognize passages, as if someone else wrote them. Often, that someone else writes better than me. Ernest Hemingway said, “For a long time now I have tried to simply write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” I’m guessing that Hemingway was in flow at those times.
I believe the flow state can improve our lives in multiple ways. It can improve our productivity, enhance our creativity, bring joy and meaning to our work, and even assuage anxieties and help dispel depression.
A state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990)
If you want to know why I’m on this flow journey, you can read the last post here.
Next up: How to get into flow easily and consistently. We’ll explore some of the best flow triggers.
In the meantime, you can find a flow state description and checklist, as well as a reflection prompt in the printable download below. In the future, the downloads will only be available for paid subscribers, but I am offering them to all subscribers now as an introductory offering.
I’d love to hear about your personal flow state experiences, so please comment below. What does flow feel like to you? What were the sensations physically, mentally? Were you more prolific in your writing? Was it more creative than usual? Describe a time, other than while writing, when you dropped into flow.
