08.08.06
Finding flow
I talked briefly about flow in an earlier post: the state of mind in which one is unconscious of self and time and totally focused on and absorbed in the activity underway. The Wikipedia entry on flow offers this:
As Csikszentmihalyi sees it, components of an experience of flow can be specifically enumerated; he presents eight:
- Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernable).
- Concentrating and focusing, a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).
- A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.
- Distorted sense of time - our subjective experience of time is altered.
- Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).
- Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).
- A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.
- The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action.
Not all of these components are needed for flow to be experienced.
It occurred to me last night that recreational activities, in general, provide a way of achieving flow: playing Go or a pickup basketball, climbing a rock wall, building something—all are activities which, if they are activities one enjoys, are likely to induce flow. Indeed, what attracts us to them is perhaps at root the chance to experience flow.
The book Finding Flow offers a variety of ways for achieving this state.
naturheal said,
26 May 2007 at 10:02 pm
I think that finding flow is all about leading a happy and fufilling life; doing kind deeds, being honest about yourself, finding balance between your mind, body and spirit, etc.
LeisureGuy said,
26 May 2007 at 10:16 pm
That is a different—and more general—idea, I think, that the rather specific psychological state Csikszentmihalyi is describing. He has in mind a particular state of mind, which arises in particular situations and settings. He happened to use the word “flow” to name that state, but he might have used some other word.