![]() ![]() Ecstasy: the task suspends ordinary life and one enters a kind of an alternate reality.Clarity: the task has clear goals, direction, or a structured intention and there is immediate feedback.Absorbed concentration: there is an experience of immersive focus on the task.Completability: a knowing that one’s skills are adequate to complete the task.When Csikszentmihalyi interviewed professionals about their experience of flow, they all mentioned at least one of the seven characteristics. There are seven main characteristics involved in the process of optimal experiencing or flow states. This allows your mind to relax into steady focus on a task without feeling overwhelmed. Most optimal experiences happen when activities are goal-directed and contained by rules. “ As a result, one of the most universal and distinctive features of optimal experience takes place: people become so involved in what they are doing that the activity becomes spontaneous, almost automatic they stop being aware of themselves as separate from the actions they are performing ” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. Their skills adequately meet the challenge and their psychic energy becomes absorbed by the activity. ![]() When in a state of flow, a person enters a sweet spot between action and awareness. The enjoyment of a flow state is dependent upon the complexity of the activity.ĭoodling may cultivate a day-dreamy experience, but it lacks the challenge, structure, and skill required to drop into a flow state.īy contrast, a coloring page can provide challenge through the structured lines of an image, requiring your hand-eye coordination to remain within the boundaries.Īctivities that balance challenge and skill can yield richer and more enjoyable experiences. While doodling may seem like an experience of flow, it actually does little to increase positive qualities of joy.Īn important difference between habitual activities and flow states is that the flow state actually works to cultivate enjoyment. These might be the day-dreamy actions of doodling or humming. It can be easy to confuse the flow state with habitual activities used to assuage boredom. “ Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are balanced with the person’s capacity to act ” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. He found that these optimal performers all had something in common: they entered a state in which the activity flowed out of them without much effort. ![]() To study optimal performance Csikszentmihalyi interviewed athletes, musicians, and artists. Csikszentmihalyi found that each person’s happiness must be self-cultivated.Ĭsikszentmihalyi studied the rare, but universal moments that people experience mastery over a task and the deep sense of enjoyment that comes with it. Following an early life of adversity, Mihaly’s research set out to explore this question.Ĭsikszentmihalyi found that happiness does not depend on outside causes, such as having more material resources, but on internal resources and perception. The Discovery of Flow StateĪs a budding positive psychologist following World War II, Csikszentmihalyi wondered: ‘ when do people feel most happy?’. īut to know what flow really is, let’s look at how he discovered it. ![]() And he defined flow as a state of absolute absorption within an equally enjoyable and challenging task. In 1975 the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term ‘flow state’. “ a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it ” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. In this article we’ll explore the science of flow states, it’s measurable effects on wellbeing, and offer tips on how to get into flow. Sounds fantastic, right? But what exactly is flow state? And are there things we can do to get into flow? This universal experience of flow has been shown to increase happiness, enjoyment, and meaning in life. A composer describes it as losing oneself into an ecstatic state where the music writes itself across the blank music paper of the mind. A poet describes it as floating effortlessly within a realm where language and the world are one. To a figure skater, flow state can feel like a rush where all movement happens automatically without thinking or even trying. All it takes is the right balance of interest, skill, and challenge, along with a clear and realistic goal. Tags: Flow State, mindfulness, Positive psychology, Productivity Table of ContentsĪ flow state can be experienced by anyone in any activity. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |