Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

How To Achieve The Impossible with Steven Kotler #189

179 snips

Jun 8, 2021

In this engaging conversation, Steven Kotler, a journalist and author known for his expertise on flow states, shares insights on unlocking human potential. He discusses how anyone can achieve peak performance, emphasizing the significance of flow in enhancing productivity and happiness. Listeners learn about the neurochemistry behind flow, the balance of challenge and skill, and the importance of embracing struggles as part of growth. Kotler also highlights practical strategies, including nature walks and mindfulness, to help integrate flow into everyday life.

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INSIGHT

Peak Performance and Biology

Peak performance is achieving a state where your biology works for you, not against you.
This involves intrinsic motivators like curiosity, passion, and purpose, aligning with flow.

INSIGHT

Universal Toolkit

Going big, achieving the impossible, and everyday improvements utilize the same biological toolkit.
This toolkit is accessible to everyone because we're hardwired for it.

ANECDOTE

Personality vs. Biology

Steven Kotler's early advice on peak performance, based on his own high-risk tolerance, negatively impacted friends.
This led him to realize that personality doesn't scale, but biology does.

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CAUTION: This episode contains swearing and themes of an adult nature.

Today’s conversation is about unlocking your full potential, striving for peak performance and ‘going big’. My guest, Steven Kotler, lives and breathes ‘flow’. He’s an expert in this optimal state of consciousness, where we feel and perform at our best. And you don’t have to be part of the business or sporting elite to benefit from his research. Steven believes we can all attain flow, because as humans we’re hard-wired to achieve. Whether you’re taking a walk, writing an email or cooking a meal, you could find yourself in flow.

Steven is a prolific author, journalist and entrepreneur. He founded the Flow Research Collective, which uses neurobiological findings to train people to achieve peak performance in all walks of life. By understanding what’s going on in the brain and body when humans are performing at their best, his goal is to help us access the flow state more often and realise our full potential.

Flow is something I’ve written about in my own books and I describe it as being so absorbed in a pleasurable activity that time seems to disappear. Steven and I talk about how psychologists and neurobiologists identify and measure flow. He provides insights on the brain chemicals involved and we discuss the links between flow and happiness. We also uncover tools you can use to access this creative state; why initial struggles are part of the process, and why active recovery is vital if you want to avoid burnout.

This is a super-charged episode, packed with insights, information and enthusiasm. Steven is certainly an advert for the energy and productivity that results from seeking out a flow state. I hope this conversation sets you on a path to finding yours.

Show notes available at https://drchatterjee.com/189

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