Psychological Flow

 “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

- Csikszentmihalyi, 1990 

What is psychological flow?

It’s an enjoyable state of mind we all have access to when we are absorbed in a challenging but achievable task. How do you know you are in flow? You are completely focused. You don’t worry about the past or future. The activity strikes a balance between boredom and anxiety (see attachments). People with enjoyable, meaningful lives know what activities bring them flow and engage in them regularly.  

According to Csikszentmihalyi, these are the eight characteristics of flow:

  1. Complete concentration on the task

  2. Clarity of goals/reward in mind/immediate feedback

  3. Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down)

  4. The experience is intrinsically rewarding (done for its own sake)

  5. Effortlessness and ease

  6. There is a balance between challenge and skills

  7. Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination

  8. There is a feeling of control over the task

Research to consider:

Modern studies of high performance and amazing human accomplishment often link back to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In his 1960s research interviewing musicians, athletes, and artists, Csikszentmihalyi realized people are very content, productive, and creative when they are in a state of flow. He called it a “flow state” because a lot of the people he interviewed described their work as simply flowing out of them without much effort. That being said, most of these people worked hard gaining skills in order to get to this state and earn this privilege. In other words, you can get shallow states of flow from activities like television, but deep states of flow come from tasks that require deliberate practice and commitment over time.

He continued to apply a scientific approach to the psychological state of creativity until his death in 2021. His life of work unleashed many practical applications to the workplace and education. Creativity has immense value in itself, but it can also lead to productivity. Regular states of flow are imperative for happy students and happy workers.

List of activities that lead to flow:

  • Musical/theater performance

  • Tests

  • Writing/crafting/building/coding/inventing

  • Sports of all kinds! Basketball, running, skiing, soccer…

  • Reading/listening to podcasts

  • Surgery (from the doctor’s perspective)

  • Watching a horse race

  • Stock market trading

  • Great philosophical discussions/friendly debates with friends

  • Can you think of any others?

Optional journal activities:

  1. What activities bring you psychological flow? How do you know?

  2. Where have you built flow into your schedule?

  3. Do you think kids experience flow more easily than adults? Why or why not?

  4. What gets in the way of flow? (Self-consciousness, self-centeredness, worrying what others think… Can you think of other thoughts that get in the way?)

  5. How does flow compare to deliberate practice? Explain why it is necessary to feel uncomfortable during deliberate practice. 

Go Deeper/Resources: 






 

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