The Flow States And Creativity: Can You Train People To Be More Creative?

WRITTEN BY HIRA KHAN

Creativity is becoming an increasingly important attribute for success in the 21st century. For example, it has been listed as one of the top five desirable traits for CEOs and crucial for children to thrive for the future.

The question, of course, is how you teach creativity. Some are born with it. Some go to art school. Others are not so lucky. 

Photo by Jr Korpa

Scientists exploring the topic have found that flow states may be connected to increased creativity. They also believe understanding flow better could explain how to increase your creativity. 

Flow and Brain Teasers

While you probably understand that creativity uses imagination or brings together old and new ideas to create something unique, flow is slightly different. A flow state can be defined as an, “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.” 

How do you know if you have been in flow before? In that state, flow expert Steven Kotler describes it as follows, “Time dilates—meaning it slows down (like the freeze frame of a car crash) or speeds up (and five hours pass by in five minutes). And throughout, all aspects of performance are incredibly heightened—and that includes creative performance.”

Although it is not clear if people can be dependably trained to be creative, it has been proven that they can be induced into flow states. At least for brief periods. An Australian study demonstrated this by using brain teasers. It gave 40 participants a difficult one. None could figure out the solution. 

However, after those same 40 underwent Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to induce temporary flow states over 50% figure it out. They were presented with the brain teaser again and 23 solved it quickly. 

TMS and Flow

TMS is what the scientists used to induce the flow states artificially. TMS uses repetitive magnetic pulses (usually aimed at the head). It is noninvasive and painless. 

During a TMS session an electromagnetic coil is placed in a circle, like a crown, on the top of your head. They stimulate nerve cells in your brain that affect neurotransmitters and neurochemicals which can improve mood. They also help alleviate symptoms of depression, migraine and neurological disorders among other things. 

Scientists also noticed that TMS could mimic changes in brain function that occur when people are in flow state. As flow states can be difficult to access dependably, TMS has become one way to artificially induce them. 

The Flow Roadmap

This is important because learning more about flow states has provided a roadmap about high performance states and, consequently, creativity as well. Some of what they have learned is listed below.

First, during flow states, the part of the brain charged with impulse control and self-monitoring - the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, or more commonly called the inner critic) - shuts down.

Kotler points out, “As a result, with this area deactivated, we’re far less critical and far more courageous, both augmenting our ability to imagine new possibilities and share those possibilities with the world.”

Second, during this period of less self-consciousness restricting our behavior, our brain also releases even more feel-good chemicals during flow.

That means our inner critic is no longer talking to us and our body is also flooding us with feel-good chemicals. Our neurochemistry is encouraging us to enjoy ourselves and thus want to keep repeating that pleasurable activity. This is what increases our ability to perform. That is also what it combines with to produce creativity.

Specifically, Kotler writes further, “norepinephrine and dopamine amp up focus, boosting imaginative possibilities by helping us gather more information… Anandamide, meanwhile, increases lateral thinking - meaning it expands the size of the database searched by the pattern recognition system.”

Creativity, he states, is about combinations: the “product of novel information bumping into old thoughts to create something startling new.”

Flow aids creativity in producing the unique combinations it requires by allowing focus and enjoyment. It shifts your mind into a space where it switches back and forth between thoughts and states of consciousness more quickly. 

A study by the Flow Genome Project found that respondents reported being seven times more creative while in flow. Another study by Teresa Amabile of Harvard University, discovered that people reported increased creativity during flow as well as an increase the day after flow as well.

Together, what their research demonstrates is that creativity is linked to flow states and that flow is affected by our neurochemistry. For that reason, scientists are increasingly researching how neurochemistry can be used to support increased performance and creativity in the future. Soon you may no longer need to rely on meditation or art school to experience the intensity and increased productivity they produce. ◼︎