Mental Energy and Flow State

What if peak performance wasn’t about working harder—but learning how to harness your mental energy?

In this episode, I explore the science of mental energy and its connection to achieving flow—the psychological state where focus, confidence, and performance come together effortlessly. Drawing from the latest 2025 research on professional athletes, I'll explain how mental energy predicts flow, and how athletes, coaches, and parents can intentionally train it.

Listeners will learn practical routines to build and sustain mental energy—pre-performance warm-ups, micro-resets during training, and reflection habits that enhance focus and resilience. Coaches will discover how to create flow-friendly environments that balance challenge and skill, and parents will gain tools to help young athletes recharge and manage their emotional energy beyond the field.

Whether preparing for competition, leading a team, or supporting an athlete, this episode offers a roadmap to train the mind like the body—and unlock consistent, high-level performance through the power of flow.

Transcript

Speaker: 0:01

I'm Dr. Nassim Ebrahimi, and welcome to Becoming My Stronger Me, a podcast designed to help you become stronger in mind, body, and heart. In season two, the mental performance series, we'll explore the intricate relationship between mental performance, sports excellence, leadership, and personal growth to help you become your stronger you. Today we're diving into one of my favorite topics, mental energy and how it connects to achieving that powerful, almost magical performance zone known as flow state. You know those moments where everything just clicks, you're locked in, your actions feel effortless, and time almost slows down. Whether you're an athlete on the field, a coach guiding from the sideline, or a parent watching from the stands, you've probably witnessed or experienced that incredible feeling. But here's the truth: flow isn't luck, it's trainable. And one of the biggest predictors of whether someone can consistently access that state is mental energy. Let's start with what the research tells us. A study published this year in BMC Sports, Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation looked at over 250 professional soccer players. Researchers wanted to know what predicted flow, the state where athletes perform at their best. They found that athletic mental energy, a combination of focus, motivation, and cognitive readiness, was one of the strongest predictors. In fact, athletes with a higher athletic mental energy were significantly more likely to enter flow state during games and in their trainings. That tells us something big. Flow state doesn't just happen when conditions are perfect, it happens when you are primed, mentally, emotionally, and physically to be fully present. And when we talk about mental energy, we're not just talking about feeling hyped up. It's about having the right kind of alertness and emotional balance to meet the demands of the moment. Think of it like the brain's version of endurance. How long can you stay focused, motivated, and emotionally centered before burning out? Another recent study in Frontiers and Psychology found that athletes' mood and their mental resilience were directly linked to their ability to experience flow state. When athletes were in good mental energy states, they were calm, confident, and purpose-driven, they entered flow much more easily and recovered from mistakes substantially faster. So, what actually happens when you're in that flow state? Neurologically, your brain enters a rhythm that supports deep focus. The prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for self-criticism, time awareness, and second guessing, quietly steps back. This process is called transient hyperfrontality. This is why in flow state, you're not overthinking, you're just doing. You're in full trust mode, acting instinctively. You also get a powerful neurochemical cocktail of dopamine, which sharpens focus and motivation, of neurepinephrine, which heightens alertness, and endorphins that create that feel-good momentum that helps you stay in the moment. It's your brain's way of saying, yes, this is where you're supposed to be. And here's the key building and maintaining mental energy helps trigger these flow responses much more consistently. So let's start with what this means for athletes. You already train your body probably every day. Strength, speed, endurance, technique, and even tactics. But mental energy needs training too. Start by integrating a mental warm-up before every session or game. Spend about five minutes breathing deeply, centering your focus and visualizing your best performance. Be specific with your visualizations. It could be composure, communication, or creativity. Lock that in and imagine yourself truly embodying it. See it, feel it, hear it, and perform with that energy. And then during practice or a game, use micro resets between reps or drills or between plays. Take a deep breath, repeat a trigger phrase like next play or I'm ready for this. It's a small intentional cue that refocuses your mind and recharges that mental energy. And then after practice, in addition to reflecting on what you're proud of, what feedback you receive that you want to remember and what to focus on next time, you could also do a quick reflection. When did my energy feel strongest today? What drained me? What do I want to change next time? These short reflections help build self-awareness, and over time you'll start noticing what conditions help you perform best. And here's something powerful. Studies show that when athletes keep even a brief mental energy log, they're better able to predict performance outcomes, manage their stress, and recover faster between games. Let's shift our attention to coaches now. Your leadership sets the tone for your team's mental energy. Every interaction, your tone, your feedback, your structure can either charge or drain that mental energy battery. When athletes feel psychologically safe and challenged, they naturally bring more energy to the game. When they feel confused or anxious, their energy tanks drain. So how do you create that balance? First, set clear, specific goals for every drill or session. Instead of saying play better defense, say communicate on every switch and close space within three seconds. Clarity builds confidence. Confidence builds mental energy. Second, provide immediate feedback. The quicker the feedback, the faster the athlete's brain can adapt and the more engaged they stay. Third, balance challenge and skill. Flow state occurs when an athlete's skill level and the task difficulty align. If the challenge is too easy, they get bored. If it's too hard, they get overwhelmed. Find that sweet spot and keep it moving as the team grows. Fourth, prioritize recovery. Mental energy drains just like physical stamina. Build in breaks, transition, and reflection periods. The best coaches don't fill every second of practice. They give athletes space to think, breathe, and recharge. And finally, consider building championship standards for your team. These are team-defined values like effort, communication, and accountability that everyone agrees to uphold. When athletes help create these standards, their buy-in skyrockets, and the team's shared energy becomes unstoppable. And if you're interested in having me facilitate that process with your team, please reach out. I'd love to help teams establish these foundations. So now let's talk about parents. Your athletes' mental energy doesn't just depend on practice, it starts at home. Everything from sleep quality to family communication to recovery habits plays a role. The first thing parents can do is to shift the post-game conversation. Instead of leading with, did you win? Or how'd you play? Try, how did you feel today? Or what's something you're proud of? That one change reframes performance as a process, not a judgment. It teaches athletes to self-reflect rather than self-criticize. Next, protect their recovery time. Athletes, especially teens, are often overscheduled and underrested. Encourage technology-free evenings, consistent sleep routines, and at least one day a week where they don't have any organized activity. Mental energy thrives in balance, not burnout. And finally, help them maintain perspective. When an athlete struggles or gets benched, remind them that these moments are part of the growth process, not signs of failure. Encouragement from parents is one of the strongest predictors of long-term resilience in sports. So what does this all mean taken together? Mental energy is the foundation for peak performance, and flow state is the outcome. You can't really have one without the other. For athletes, it's about awareness and routine, understanding what charges or drains your focus. For coaches, it's about crafting the environment, balancing challenge, clarity, and recovery. And for parents, it's about modeling calm, supportive energy, showing that performance is important, but well-being matters most. When all three work together, the athlete, the coach, and the parent, you create a powerful system where mental energy isn't just sustained, it multiplies. So here's my challenge for you this week. For athletes, start an energy reflection journal. Coaches, test one new feedback strategy that promotes clarity and confidence. And parents, make one small change to your post-game conversation. Because when mental energy becomes part of the daily training plan, flow state stops being a mystery. It becomes a mindset. Until next time, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, join our Facebook group, send in your stories and feedback. And if you're looking for a mental performance coach or want more information, go to www.becoming my strongerme.com. I can't wait to hear from you.