Everything in life is a relationship, and the degree to which you can access flow state (at will) is dependent on how you feel about yourself. Your experience of wealth, business, interpersonal connections, health and even what opportunities are available to you stem from your relationship with yourself.
Now, I don’t mean how you feel about what you have or your role in the world; I’m talking about how you feel about yourself deep down. I’m referencing the private conversations you have with yourself when your head hits the pillow at night.
Accessing flow state on demand requires full transparency and honesty – with yourself. You can’t fake being in the flow, nor will you access its full potential without being authentic.
So the question is, how willing are you to look at all the ways you’ve masked how you truly feel about yourself? Are you open to highlighting all the goals, opportunities and results you pursued to fill a void, the lack or insecurity within?
It all starts with you
As an entrepreneur, no matter your goal, you need to become the person who can handle the result you’re after. If you can’t manage a scaled business or higher-level opportunities, they won’t land at your feet. And if they do, you won’t be able to sustain them.
If you feel unworthy, lack confidence or are in constant comparison with those around you, you’re far from the flow state because none of that exists in the flow.
Whenever I see that an entrepreneur’s focus is purely on ‘what do I need to do?’ and less on ‘who do I need to become?’, I know their experience of attaining the outcome is effortful. It’s always going to be a push, hustle and grind to get the results from that space.
However, if they were to shift their attention to who they’re becoming on their journey, they can be the person who sustains greater results. Transform the relationship with yourself first, and watch as the results naturally take care of themselves.
That’s the secret to mastering the flow – it starts with who you are.
Fall in love with the process
An entrepreneur who yo-yos with success is one driven by the false target. They’re unwilling to use their journey to mature into the next version of themselves.
Yet, look at any entrepreneur who finds stability – say, those who maintain financial stability – that’s a mature entrepreneur. They’ve become the person they needed to evolve into and actively participated in the process. That’s someone who understands the art of entrepreneurship.
Athletes and professional sporting teams understand this concept. Yes, they want the gold medal or the win, but those with a good coach know if they focus only on the outcome, they won’t sustain their performance. Instead, they fall in love with the process, with the game. It’s the same in business.
Flow state is the connectivity of all things. So whether you’re a sportsperson, an entrepreneur, an artist or a business owner, each of us has access to infinite potential; however, not everyone will fall in love with the process – because the process isn’t exempt from failure, challenge or hard work. But the process is where you find and master flow state.
Recognise your false targets faster
Ever pursued something and in the moment of achieving it, you thought, ‘I made it!’ – but then days or weeks later, you were dissatisfied, no matter how great the accomplishment was? If what you attained wasn’t enough, you chased a false target. You thought the outcome would give you a sense of completion.
Security is a common false target (or agenda) I see driving many entrepreneurs who can’t seem to escape the insecurity they feel within – no matter how much money they earn or what position they land. After a big financial win, some feel secure for a short while until that income isn’t enough, and they need the next three or five million to secure the money they have. It’s never enough but they don’t know how to fix it.
Other common agendas include: seeking acceptance, approval, recognition, validation and ultimately love.
For example, your underlying agenda may be gaining acceptance through your career because you don’t accept yourself on the inside. Or maybe you’re driven by recognition because you lack recognition for yourself.
On the surface, these may be disguised as more money, fame, status or power, but chip away and ask yourself why you want what you want, and you’ll arrive at one of the agendas above.
Helping professionals uncover their agendas – whether hidden or not – is what I do in my coaching program. I support people to remove the false target to access infinite potential and be in flow state at will.
The professionals I coach want to go to the next level. They want to play big and win big, but not at the expense of their integrity or health. They don’t want empty achievements or unsustainable results – they want to be authentic and attain real, long-lasting results while giving something of themselves to the world.
What has this got to do with the flow state? Everything. Until you’re honest about how you feel about yourself and the agenda that’s driving your actions, whatever you do, achieve or become, it will never be enough – or sustainable. There’ll always be the next shimmering diamond, and your results will yo-yo or plateau.
Accessing flow state at will
If you want to access infinite creativity at will rather than waiting for inspiration to hit, here’s what you need to do.
- Identify the false target: Review what you’re doing. If there’s no genuine passion and love for it, you’ll probably never find flow state. And even if you do, it’ll be in short bursts.
- Diffuse the voice: Accessing flow state at will means knowing how to put aside or withdraw your attention from the noise. Noise can be internal thoughts that say, ‘You can’t do it’ or ‘It’s not possible’. Or external noise (the shimmering diamonds) where your attention is on how much money you could make, the recognition you may get, or the material possessions you could acquire.
- Fall in love with the process: When you’re genuinely passionate about something, you fall in love with the process. If you haven’t fallen in love with the process, then you’re going to fall out of flow state all the time. Master your attention, be present with your journey, and the results take care of themselves.
Amir Zoghi is a Transformation Coach, Aerobatic Pilot, CEO and Entrepreneur. He works with high-performing professionals to teach them how to access flow state to reach even higher goals.
