words John Rowe; illustrations Vince Patterson
‘Finding ways to be successful during lockdown and to optimise our performance means finding ways to get into a flow state. Only in this way can we make revolutionary leaps that would not be possible whilst hooked on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other self-driven time drains…’
How to Attain Peak Human Performance Without the Digital Drag
Lockdown has changed our lives and there’s no going back. It has revolutionised how we work, shop, communicate, exercise and especially how we run a business. Dealing with lockdown means getting your business online and connecting with your customer base in a different way, translating what you offer to a digital platform to target your audience, ensuring your social media represents your brand in the best way possible.
How to Smash Your Goals Without Having a Nervous Breakdown
The downside to this is that social media is a black hole. A swirling vortex where time distorts, spitting you out on the other side drained, depressed and a day lighter. So how is it possible to be productive and propel your business forward during lockdown without losing a vast amount of valuable time carved out for work? How can you attain peak human performance without having a nervous breakdown? What are the key factors leading to success that can make a profound difference and make you feel happier in the process?
Success the Ethical Way
Success means a lot of different things to different people: smashing goals, exceeding expectations, getting rich, etc., but being successful doesn’t mean being a dick. Building yourself up and being the most obnoxious ego in the room, undermining others to position yourself as Alpha might get you short-term gains but could have negative effects in the future. Research suggests that those who get to the top from the suffering of others might get there slightly faster, but they also are pulled down from the top spot by those damaged during the sickening ascension.
Ethical and Compassionate Business
There is another way – ethical and compassionate business. Many people look at this and think there’s an inherent weakness at the core of this idea that should be aligned with the woo of crystal-wielding psychopaths Investigated further, however, this has the potential to revolutionise how we do business and can make us less stressed and frustrated.
Compassionate Business is Not Being Nice. It’s Displacing Your Ego
So what does it mean to be ethical and compassionate in business? It doesn’t mean being nice. It means displacing an ego-centred drive that is fundamentally flawed and limits what is humanly possible. This is increasingly difficult in an age where social media encourages us to do just the opposite. It vies for our time, manipulating us to click onto the next image for that boost of dopamine, galvanising the idea that the self is the most important thing and the gateway to happiness. Images on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Tiktok construct an image of who we are or should be. This is an image that has to be maintained and fostered, hiding the fragility of what lies beneath.
How to Create Vibrant Content: Getting Out of Your Own Way
Worrying about what people will think is one of the central inhibitors in being creative and producing vibrant content to connect with our audience. To communicate effectively, whether as an artist, a musician or as a business owner means venturing into absolute risk. It means risking our own destruction and absorbing ourselves in a task that will take us away from ourselves. So how can we break out of this unhealthy addiction that is crushing and obliterating our ability to attain a flow state and be creative? Is it possible in a world driven by self?
What is Flow and Why is it Important?
The word ‘flow’ was chosen by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi from the University of Chicago. He studied musicians, chess players, surgeons, dancers, etc., and then, Navaho sheep herders, Italian grape farmers, Chicago assembly line workers, elderly Korean women and Japanese teenage motorcycle gang members. He asked them about the time when they were working at the best and the common word that they all used was ‘flow’. A study by McKinsey found that executives are five times more productive when in a flow state. This means working just two days in flow makes you 1,000% more productive that your competitors.
Getting into a Flow State and Getting Out of our Own Way
A lot of research has been done on flow states, which is a total absorption in a particular task. Everything seems to flow from one thing to the next effortlessly and connections are made quickly. Time is perceived differently, senses are heightened and you’re totally ‘in the zone’. This state is where great leaps forward are made and this only happens when we get out of our own way. During this flow state, the prefrontal cortex is inhibited and the implicit mind takes over, allowing the brain to communicate freely and engage creatively (Dietrich, 2004). Studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex is more active in self-referential tasks, but when the individual is focused on a task, this area of the brain is used less (Gusnard et al., 2001). This means that by focusing fully on a task means getting out of our own way, displacing the self and allowing the mind to be fully absorbed. Only this way can a flow state be reached and leaps forward be achieved.
Finding ways to be successful during lockdown and to optimise our performance means finding ways to get into a flow state. Only in this way can we make revolutionary leaps that would not be possible whilst hooked on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other self-driven time drains.
The team from About Now report from the digital frontline for Flux with monthly musings and dynamic delights on their journey, with SEO and visibility tips for business. Check out their website for more information https://aboutnowuk.com/
