The Rise of Superman
by Steven Kotler
Kotler on flow in extreme sports: why surfers, climbers and skiers achieve the state so reliably, the neurochemistry, and the triggers, risk, novelty, complexity, clear goals, immediate feedback. It is exhilarating and overclaims in places; the triggers are useful to anyone designing work for absorption.
Read it if…
you want the flow triggers explained through the most extreme examples.
Skip it if…
you want the research foundation; see Csikszentmihalyi.
Three things you will actually use
- Risk and novelty trigger flow; add safe versions.
- Clear goals and immediate feedback are required.
- Recovery after flow is part of the cycle.
Do this first
Add one flow trigger to your work tomorrow: a clear goal with fast feedback and slightly more challenge.
Our verdict
Exhilarating and overclaiming.
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The Power of Concentration
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Attention drills from 1918.
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