Have you experienced a period of time in your life that you have completely lost track of time, your mind is focusing just on the moment and activity you are working on and you are totally disengaged from the outer world? After some time did you notice that the time went by quickly and more time had passed than you actually thought? Athletes may call this being in the zone. One can imagine great artists, composers, authors, surgeons and others who have a passion for something they are working on, being in this zone. This is called Flow. This is a heightened state of consciousness and was discovered by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Flow occurs under distinct conditions.
Flow is universal and has specific features:
- There are clear goals
- There is complete concentration
- Someone’s activities and awareness becomes one
- The person may lose complete awareness of oneself but after their sense of self becomes stronger
- There is total belief in the sense of control and there is no worrying about failure
- Time goes quickly and the person loses track of time
- The activity is rewarding to the person just for the sake of accomplishing it
- There is usually an absence of emotions during the period of flow as the awareness of self is not active
Flow can be experienced in work as well as play. The personal challenge of doing something meets with the skill of the person but many times it occurs when someone chooses to perform the activity. This explains why many people who display passion for their careers may get lost in flow. It also explains why people working with their hobby may be experiencing flow or someone engaged in a stimulating discussion find flow . Flow may help to build our “psychological capital”, that is that it helps us have positive emotion and build our resilience.
Optimal experiences and moments of flow cause our bodies and minds to stretch, they can contribute to a sense of mastery, a sense of participation in life and a feeling of controlling the content of life. When flow occurs, it contributes to engagement and a meaningful life. This is all related to flourishing and living our best life.
Think about a time when you lost track of time and the outside world. What were you doing? How did you feel after this? Did it create a sense of well-being or mastery for you?
Some ways that people find flow may include:
- Participating in sports or following and watching a sports team/game, rooting for the winner
- Working on a hobby such as photography, sewing, model planes, sports, maintaining collections, scuba diving, boating, creative writing
- Finding passion in work and career
- Spending quality time with others
- Exercising- swimming, weight lifting, mountain climbing, hiking
Let me know if you have found flow
References:
Csikszentmihalyi, M. Flow-The Psychology of Optimal Experience.