Why is optimal performance such a secret?
Written by Stuart Haden on February 17, 2016
Flow states and optimal performance are practiced and researched in three well known parts of society. These areas keep them a secret, for good reason. Sharing these secrets has never been part of their game, a secret kept from their enemies or wrapped under a research cloud. Sport, military academia all rely heavily on the science of flow.
Last years gold medalist is hardly going to write an article on how he/she found flow so that the silver medalist and other stragglers can cotton on. The military use flow all the time, they know that it accelerates training/performance (by as much as 200%) but it must be encrypted. The next paper on high performance can’t go public in case another institution beats them to it before their lengthly study is complete.
The psychology of why this happens is apparent to us all, if we openly share our discovery perhaps it will be spoiled by the masses. But when it comes down to the science of flow and optimal human performance I am all about openness – a free online course The 7 Secrets of Increasing Personal Energy or four flow workshops that kick performance on to another level.