When attention, presence, and enjoyment fully meld with involvement in an activity, we refer to the resulting state as ‘Flow.’ We know from research that not only are flow experiences satisfying, they’re also good for our psychological well-being. In the video I discuss the ingredients for achieving a flow state, why it’s not something you can force, and why we often tend to choose activities that won’t produce flow.
Highlights from video:
The psychological state of flow has been studied and its understanding furthered by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who also described it as ‘Optimal Experience.’ It can be understood as a state of full absorption and complete involvement in an activity, so much so that everything else melts away into the background. Flow experiences are often deeply satisfying and enjoyable.
When in a state of flow, a person becomes completely and wholly absorbed into an ongoing experience, which continually provides its own reinforcement and rewards. Focus is tightly but almost effortlessly centered on that experience and nothing else. For example, sometimes athletes describe flow as being ‘in the zone,’ where the game seemingly slows down and they can see a couple steps ahead of the action. Others might experience it in things like playing music, cooking, rock climbing, painting…really any number of different activities that a person might enjoy. The benefits of flow are highly useful for performers like athletes, but also are good for overall life satisfaction and psychological well-being.
So how does a flow state happen, exactly? There are a couple key ingredients, without which flow won’t emerge: One, the activity needs to be one that is at a ‘just right’ level of challenging and engaging. Two, it has to be something intrinsically rewarding–an endeavor that a person enjoys or values. If both of those ingredients are present in a given moment of activity, a flow state can happen. It won’t always occur, but these conditions are what allows for the opportunity for flow to emerge.
Research shows that engaging in the kinds of activities that could bring flow makes us happier, but we often opt instead for more immediate, passive things. So even though they’re better for us overall, it seems that flow activities are harder for us to initiate. This seems to be due to what we perceive as the activation costs or the obstacles in the way of getting started.
Related Article: (VIDEO) The Skill of Taking Action When You Don’t Feel Like it
‘Activation cost’ is essentially just the energy that it would take to do those activities that are more active, engaging, and challenging yet also rewarding and enjoyable. If we can get ourselves to select these kinds of activities more often, and if they include a balance of the two ingredients discussed above, we are in a position to enjoy and benefit from more flow experiences in our lives.
If you’d like to talk more about this or if you wish to inquire about our therapy services, don’t hesitate to reach out to us today.
Photo by Greta Hoffman
