Achieving this state can help people feel greater enjoyment, energy, and involvement.
Flow is a state of mind in which a person becomes fully immersed in an activity.
Positive psychologistMihaly Csikszentmihalyidescribes flow as a state of complete immersion in an activity.
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Imagine for a moment that you are running a race.
You are living in the moment, utterly absorbed in the present activity.
Time seems to fall away.
You are tired, but you barely notice.
This is an example of a flow state.
What Is Flow?
What does flow mean in psychology?
Flow is a state of mind that shows up when a person is totally immersed in an activity.
While in a flow state, people are highly involved and focused on what they are doing.
Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.
Flow experiences can occur in different ways for different people.
It often happens when you are doing something that you enjoy and in which you are quite skilled.
This state is often associated with the creative arts, such as painting, drawing, or writing.
Emotional Regulation
With increased flow, people experience growth toward emotional complexity.
This can help people develop skills that allow them toregulate their emotionsmore effectively.
Fulfillment and Happiness
People in a flow state enjoy what they are doing more.
Intrinsic Motivation
Because flow is a positive mental state, it can help increasemotivation.
Engagement and Performance
People in a flow state feel fully involved in the task at hand.
Flow states often take place during creative tasks, which can help inspire greater creative and artistic pursuits.
Recap
Flow has a number of benefits.
Characteristics of Flow
According to Csikszentmihalyi, there are 10 factors that accompany the experience of flow.
You’re in control, focused, and getting immediate feedback on how you’re doing.
This system helps regulate control over engaging or disengaging tasks by releasing norepinephrine in response to stimuli.
Real-Life Examples of a Flow State
Flow states can happen anywhere, anytime.
All it takes is to be sufficiently engaged, challenged, and motivated to pursue the task.
Flow in Creative Pursuits
Flow is perhaps most often associated with creativity.
The words flow easily and quickly.
Flow in Education
Csikszentmihalyi has suggested that overlearning a skill or concept can help people experience flow.
Another critical concept in his theory is the idea of slightly extending oneself beyond one’s current ability level.
This slight stretching of one’s current skills can help the individual experience flow.
Flow often happens during creative activities and athletic pursuits.
But flow states aren’t just something experienced by artists, writers, or athletes.
Hyperfocus and flow can seem very similar, but there are important differences.
What Can You Do to Achieve a Flow State?
It takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes offocused attentionto reach a flow state.
Once in flow, it may last from 30 minutes to a couple of hours.
However, it is possible to achieve flow more than once a day, given the right conditions.
So what can you do to increase your chances ofachieving flow?
There are some strategies you could use to help set the stage for entering a flow state.
A game of chess is a good example of when a flow state might occur.
Try reducing distractions so you might fully focus on the task at hand.
Because there’s a bit of a challenge, you tend to get very absorbed in overcoming the difficulty.
Adding that little bit of adversity makes you more likely to get absorbed in the task.
“If challenges are too low, one gets back to flow by increasing them.
If challenges are too great, one can return to the flow state by learning new skills.”
Practice Meditation and Mindfulness
Meditation andmindfulnessmay help you get into a flow state more readily.
Mindfulness involves becoming more attuned to the present moment.
One study found that practicing mindfulness regularly helped athletes experience a flow state and improved their performance.
Even if the other conditions are right, flow just isn’t going to happen.
Instead, focus on achieving flow while working on something you love.
Fortunately, it is also a skill you could learn to achieve with practice.
It is important to remember that flow is a dynamic and ever-changing state.
TED.Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness.
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Csikszentmihalyi M.Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life.
