In this episode, Rebecca welcomes her friend, author, and legendary peak-performance researcher Steven Kotler for a conversation that weaves together science, sport, creativity, and the deeper human quest for what’s possible. Steven has spent decades decoding flow, the neurobiological state where we feel our best and perform our best, but this conversation goes far beyond definitions.

Together, Rebecca and Steven explore why flow is accessible to everyone, what happens when you chase it too hard, and why recovery is a form of grit. Steven also opens up about the period of his life when Lyme disease left him bedridden, suicidal, and stripped of his identity, and how an unexpected moment in the ocean became the spark that rebuilt everything.

This is a conversation about curiosity, resilience, and how the smallest actions, walking the dog, doodling on a page, stepping outside, can literally help us find our way back to ourselves.

In this episode, Rebecca and Steven explore:

Understanding Flow & Peak Performance

1. What flow actually is from a neurobiological perspective
2. Why flow follows focus—and the 28 triggers that bring us into the present moment
3. The different forms of flow: individual, interpersonal, group, and communitas
4. Why flow operates on a four-stage cycle (and why you can’t be in flow all the time)

Chasing Flow vs. Working With It

1. The danger of using risk as a flow trigger
2. How novelty and creativity create safer, more sustainable pathways into flow
3. Why action sports athletes often “break things” chasing that feeling
4. How micro-changes—like interpreting terrain creatively—can upgrade performance without increasing danger

Recovery, Afterglow & the Science of the Come-Down

1. What happens in the brain after a massive flow state
2. Why a big flow day almost guarantees a low-performance day right after
3. The neurochemical crash that mimics the comedown of recreational drugs
4. How to use healthy recovery habits to shorten the “cost of flow”

Steven's Journey Through Illness

1. Steven recounts the years when Lyme disease left him unable to walk across a room
2. The suicidal moment when he believed he’d become a lifelong burden
3. The friend who insisted he go surfing—and the wave that triggered a full-blown, mystical macro-flow state
4. How repeated exposure to flow helped reboot his immune system and rebuild his life
5. What neuro-immunology reveals about the connection between flow, healing, and homeostasis

Flow, Longevity & Life Design

1. Why immersion in nature is one of the most potent flow triggers
2. The role of action sports and outdoor movement in mental health and aging
3. Why walking—even slowly—is medicine for the nervous system and the brain
4. How Steven teaches older adults to park-ski using creativity instead of risk

1. Flow is trainable. With the right structure, most people can increase flow by 70–80% within eight weeks.
2. Recovery is a grit skill. High performers burn out not from doing too much—but from never shutting down.
3. Creativity microdosing between tasks keeps you in flow and prevents ego spikes that knock you out of it.
4. Tragedy can be a teleportation chamber. Sometimes the hardest experiences become the doorway to the life we wanted but couldn’t reach on our own.
5. Movement + nature = neurobiological reset. Just 20 minutes outdoors begins to flush stress hormones and restore baseline...