![]() ![]() In Western cultures where autonomy and achievement are typically valued, folks tend to experience flow through activities that provide: In cultures where poverty is the norm or where there are few choices of how time is spent, fewer people are likely to experience flow. ![]() Koreans have noted a feeling of transcendence that sounds like flow in response to reading religious texts.īut if flow is universal, the authors suggest, it’s also limited by culture. In Yu, the world’s constraints and cares drop away, just as they do in the flow state. In their 2016 review of cross-cultural literature on flow, Csikszentmihalyi and his co-author give examples of how flow occurs across cultures.ĭaoists refer to Yu, or walking without touching the water. Laura Tracey, a reading interventionist at Winthrop Elementary School in Massachusetts, says the educational terms for activities that elicit flow are “zone of proximal development” and “instructional level.” Flow activities are “just right,” she says, “not too hard and not too easy.”Ĭoaches, teachers, managers, and individuals seeking to build engagement often work to design activities that could lead to flow. When you’re ready and practiced, though, a challenging class, match, or workout can energize you and encourage you to perform at the top of your game - and return for more. But if your skill level is too high, you’ll likely get bored or stop paying attention. In general, flow requires clear goals throughout a process, not only a focus on the outcome.īoxing is a good example of how flow might happen.Ĭody Dominguez, general manager, and trainer at TITLE Boxing Club in Falls Church, Virginia, says that if your skill level is too low for your match, class, or workout, you’re likely to get overwhelmed. Too high of a challenge may cause you to feel insecure, while too low of a challenge may leave you sluggish or uncaring. Flow occurs when you feel a balance between the level of challenge and your skill. The likelihood of you as a unique individual entering flow depends on how you engage with a task or activity. If washing the dishes feels purposeful and you are invested in how you’re doing it or for whom, even a mundane task can induce flow. When flow occursįlow can occur at work, during play, in school, or while creating, engaging in sports, or managing a business. When you enter flow, you enter an alternative reality that manifests in what you are creating, or sometimes just in the way you feel. In his 2008 Ted Talk, Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as an intensely pleasurable mindset that is out of the ordinary. When you’re in a flow state, your skills are fully engaged yet you’re not overwhelmed - rather, you’re up to the challenge. release from ordinary perceptions of timeĪccording to the American Psychological Association (APA) definition, flow involves a feeling of effortlessness.Features of this positive mind state include: But once you understand its benefit - and a big one is pleasure - you might want to try to maximize your chances of achieving it in everyday life.Ī pair of studies, co-authored by Csikszentmihalyi and published in 2022, reviews the main principles of flow. There are no guarantees that you will be able to enter into a flow state frequently or in all of your activities. Once experienced, the memory of flow calls folks back to the gym, desk, or studio - wherever it was first found. Some call it their sweet spot, others say they’re in their zone.Įducators and coaches do their best to facilitate flow in students. Still, if you know people who have found jobs, hobbies, sports, or even tasks they’re passionate about, you probably know people who’ve experienced flow. If you’re bored and in a rut, your state of mind will be more burning out than flowing. If you’re learning something new and it’s over your head, you’re not likely to feel it. His research and writings on flow over the years reflect his interest in positive psychology, or how people pursue and find happiness.Īchieving flow is never a given. The Hungarian American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi developed the term “flow” and its defining principles in his renowned book “ Flow : The Psychology of Optimal Experience.” When your skills seamlessly align with the task at hand, time, worry, ego, and self-doubt drop away. The “it” here refers to flow, a state of mind in which thought and action perfectly align. Artists, writers, children, and older adults do it. Share on Pinterest Thomas Barwick/Getty ImagesĪthletes do it. ![]()
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