Neuroimaging study shows how being “in the zone” requires intensive practice first and then learning to surrender

Flow, or being “in the zone,” is a state of amped-up cre­ativ­i­ty, enhanced pro­duc­tiv­i­ty and bliss­ful con­scious­ness that, some psy­chol­o­gists believe, is also the secret to hap­pi­ness. It’s con­sid­ered the brain’s fast track to suc­cess in busi­ness, the arts or any oth­er field. But in order to achieve flow, a per­son must first devel­op a strong…

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To boost creativity, combine systematic daily effort with diverse emotional states

Map­ping Cre­ativ­i­ty in the Brain (The Atlantic): “The writer Edith Whar­ton, a self-pro­fessed “slow work­er,” dis­missed the idea of easy cre­ative tri­umph. “Many peo­ple assume that the artist receives, at the out­set of his career, the mys­te­ri­ous sealed orders known as ‘Inspi­ra­tion,’ and has only to let that sov­er­eign impulse car­ry him where it will,”…

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