“You’ve Just Got To Put In The Time”

“There’s a kind of unexplainable energy you tap into — if you just start. One word, then another, and before long, you’re gone.” -Stephen King, On Writing

“The mystique of rock climbing is climbing; you get to the top of a rock glad it’s over but really wish it would go on forever. The justification of climbing is climbing, like the justification of poetry is writing; you don’t conquer anything except things in yourself…. The act of writing justifies poetry. Climbing is the same: recognizing that you are a flow. The purpose of the flow is to keep on flowing, not looking for a peak or utopia but staying in the flow. It is not a moving up but a continuous flowing; you move up to keep the flow going. There is no possible reason for climbing except the climbing itself; it is a self-communication.”
― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

“‘Muscle memory’ doesn’t live in our hands or legs. The real control centre is in the brain. This is where movement begins, guided by systems that plan and initiate what we do. From there, messages travel through long chains of nerve cells – from the brain down the spine and out to the rest of the body. Millions of tiny electrical signals, known as action potentials, move back and forth, telling our muscles, organs and even the tips of our fingers what to do next…The idea is to ‘program’ the right moves in our brain so they become so automatic we can use them to, yes, feel, and to find flow…One thing is for sure, if you keep chasing flow by some sort of celestial action, waiting for your inner genius to strike from nowhere, you’ll keep failing. Because that genius, apologies for being blunt, is, in fact, nowhere to be found. Genius is work…Creatives who invite regular technique practice into their life will experience their art as second nature.” -Julia F. Christensen

“Control over consciousness is not simply a cognitive skill. At least as much as intelligence, it requires the commitment of emotions and will. It is not enough to know how to do it; one must do it, consistently, in the same way as athletes or musicians who must keep practicing what they know in theory.”
―Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Wanna find more flow?

Start by practicing more and doing so deliberately. With concentration, intention and purpose. (e.g. The musician practicing scales. The dancer doing barre work. The athlete doing drills. The actor working on the text.)

The harder you practice it.

The easier it is to let it go.

And just let it flow.

Thomas Merton, the great writer and Trappist monk, was once asked how a person can have more mystical experiences in their life. His reply:

“You’ve just got to put in the time.”

P.S. – This excellent Aeon article on flow and mastery.