Dr. Jacob Rosenstein and North Texas Neurosurgical Consultants: How Being in a Flow State Maximizes Surgical Outcomes and Enhances Overall Well-Being

Those who operate in a flow state are so absorbed by an activity that their attention is completely held by it. Being in a flow state correlates with peak performance, and it has a positive impact on your life, productivity, health, and overall well-being.

Hungarian-American psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who is known as one of the co-founders of the field of positive psychology, was the first to recognize and research the phenomenon of flow. He referred to flow as the secret to happiness in his 1990 book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. According to Csíkszentmihályi, people are happy when they are in a state of flow, a type of intrinsic motivation that involves being fully focused on the situation or task.

Research has shown that flow is a distinct mental state and that it emerges when the level of challenge of the task and the skill level the person possesses are harmonious. Although working, the flow is inherently restorative and pleasurable, and dopamine is released to make the person feel more optimistic, energized, and relaxed. 

Due to the ability to fully focus while lacking self-consciousness, the flow state brings higher productivity levels, improved emotional regulation, and increased satisfaction. The mind works optimally in a flow state for approximately 30 minutes to multiple hours, especially when fully engaged.

Dr. Jacob Rosenstein of North Texas Neurosurgical Consultants has mastered the art of the flow state, however, it has been a journey to reach such mindfulness. 

As a medical student at the esteemed Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Rosenstein spent his very first day on the medical campus — before classes had even begun — watching a surgery from an observation gallery above  an operating room at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His endless curiosity has benefitted him throughout his career as he honed his skills. His surgical skills grew to be good, then great, then excellent, and finally to the master level. 

Now that Dr. Rosenstein has reached a mastery level, he has come to realize that there is a level even beyond this. “I never thought there was a level above master level until recently,” he explained. “I am now at a level when I am one with the patient during surgery. Everything flows naturally where we are connected. It is a deep state of healing.”

As for his flow state, Dr. Rosenstein says that it just happens automatically. His job is to relieve pain and suffering  and as such,  he becomes very connected with each patient in the process. “It is a very fulfilling feeling like you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing in life. It’s  like everything that has  happened to both the patient and you up to that point in time was meant to be. The fact that we are both there at that particular moment in time to take care of that particular problem, speaks to how interconnected to each other we all are.” said Dr. Rosenstein.

The level of mental focus, attention and care that Dr. Rosenstein shows each patient is the reason he has become one of the best neurosurgeons in the country treating spine related problems. To learn more about Dr. Rosenstein and all the work that he does at North Texas Neurological Consultants, visit their website here.

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