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How to Enter the ‘Flow State’ for Effortless Creativity

By Matt Davis — 2018

Taking a modern look at a millennia-old concept. We experience the "flow state" when a given task becomes effortless and time slips by without our noticing. The concept has appeared in many ancient philosophies like Stoicism and Taoism, and modern research has confirmed this experience is real. By learning more about the flow state and how to trigger it, we can both work more productively and feel more satisfied with life.

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Aesthetically Appealing Art Increases Creative Inspiration

Viewing art you find aesthetically pleasing can help boost your personal creativity, researchers report. (Source: Max Planck Institute)

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Neuroscience News
2021
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It’s Great to Be ‘In the Zone’ — While Working, Exercising and Creating Art. Here’s How to Get There.

In the 1960s, psychologist Abraham Maslow became the first academic to write about what he called “peak experiences,” moments of elation that come from pushing ourselves in challenging tasks.

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Jessica Wapner
2019
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18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently

it's not just a stereotype of the "tortured artist" -- artists really may be more complicated people. Research has suggested that creativity involves the coming together of a multitude of traits, behaviors and social influences in a single person.

Article
Carolyn Gregoire
2014
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Creative People’s Brains Really Do Work Differently

Creative people are able to juggle seemingly contradictory modes of thought—cognitive and emotional, deliberate and spontaneous.

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Carolyn Gregoire
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How Googlers Avoid Burnout (and Secretly Boost Creativity)

You have to “turn it off” to “turn it on” when it matters most.

Article
Brad Stulberg, Steve Magness
2017
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Create a Work Environment that Fosters Flow

Everywhere we look in business, timetables once measured by calendars can now be clocked by egg timers. So how can we keep up? In a word—and according to an ever-increasing pile of evidence—“flow."

Article
Steven Kotler
2014
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The Science of Peak Human Performance

The science of ultimate human performance has a bad name–literally. “Flow” is the term used by researchers for optimal states of consciousness, those peak moments of total absorption where self vanishes, time flies, and all aspects of performance go through the roof.

Article
Steven Kotler
2014
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Secrets of the Creative Brain

A leading neuroscientist who has spent decades studying creativity shares her research on where genius comes from, whether it is dependent on high IQ—and why it is so often accompanied by mental illness.

Article
Nancy C. Andreasen
2014
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How Our Brains Can Find Peace in a Crisis

Psychologist Rick Hanson discusses how to strengthen our capacity for wisdom, peace, and enlightenment.

Article
Jill Suttie
2020
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The Four Keys to Well-Being

Dr. Richard Davidson explains that well-being is a skill that can be practiced and strengthened.

Article
Richard Davidson
2016
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EXPLORE TOPIC

Creative Well-Being