Attention! Another new term has entered the TikTok lexicon, and you’re about to see it everywhere. If you’ve spent any time on the app within the past week, you might have noticed people talking about “being in their flow state.” It’s popping up in videos and in comments, but no, it has nothing to do with getting a lot accomplished at work.
Typically, “flow” refers to the psychological state of being fully focused on a task. You might be in a flow state if you check emails for a whole hour without blinking, read 100 pages of a book in what feels like a second, or when you fully get lost in a hobby. It feels really good to be in flow, like you’re organized, capable, focused, and challenged just enough to feel engaged.
According to Karol Ward, LCSW, a confidence expert and licensed psychotherapist, flow state is also when your body and mind are in full alignment. You’re relaxed, your thoughts are clear, and you’re able to focus for a long stretch of time without feeling drained or stressed. “You might feel energized about a work project and the next thing you know, two hours have passed,” she tells Bustle. With that in mind, here’s what the new TikTok slang-ified version means.
The New Meaning Of “Flow State”
According to a viral TikTok by @rebeccapousma, all the cool kids are now saying things like, “I’m in a flow state” or “I reached flow state.” To use it in a sentence, she offered: “I’m on my third coffee of the day, I just met up with my best friend, we’re in our flow state.”
It basically means you’ve tapped into the truest version of yourself and everything feels right in the world. Instead of referring to productivity or “being in the zone,” it’s more about feeling happy and like everything’s unfolding as it should. It’s very similar to saying “I’m in my element.”
It could happen at work, while out with friends, at the gym, or while driving when the perfect song comes on. You’ll know you’re in flow state when you feel like a main character and when everything seems to be going your way.
Examples Of “Flow State”
A viral TikTok, posted by @maebeholland on Nov. 20, showed friends “test running” a kitchen set at Ikea by pretending to serve Thanksgiving dinner right there in the store, and it was the perfect example of flow state. In the skit, they all fell into a natural rhythm of conversation, and it seemed so realistic. In her comments, someone said, “They reached flow state so fast.”
Another clip posted by @_erickonda_ showed them strutting in a parking garage while their blowout bounced with each step. They asked the question, “Why is the walk from your car to your destination so tea?” In the comments, someone said, “Heels clacking, keys jingling, hair in the wind, lip gloss POPPIN, flow state fr.”
On Nov. 23, @deme.lockedin said she entered flow state while scrolling on her phone on the treadmill, which helped her forget she was exercising. In her comments, someone said, “The type of flow state I’m trying to achieve.”
Meanwhile, @ravynlenae was busy getting glam for an event with her makeup team and said, “When the glam is glamming because everybody locked in and we genuinely hit flow state.” They were all hard at work, and everything was in ~flow~.
While it shares similarities with the original meaning of “flow state,” the new flow state puts a fresh spin on the term, and it’s so much more fun.
Source:
Karol Ward, LCSW, confidence expert, licensed psychotherapist
