Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields^[1]. Positive psychology is a relatively young branch of psychology that studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. ... Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (IPA pronunciation: ), born on September 29, 1934, is a psychology professor at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California and is the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College. ...

Colloquial terms for this or similar mental states include: to be on the ball, in the zone, or in the groove.

Components of flow

Csíkszentmihályi identifies the following as accompanying an experience of flow:

1. Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one's skill set and abilities).
2. 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).
3. A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.
4. Distorted sense of time, one's subjective experience of time is altered.
5. Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).
6. Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).
7. A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.
8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action.
9. People become absorbed in their activity, and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging^[2].

Not all are needed for flow to be experienced. For consciousness of ones existence, see Self-awareness. ...

boy, painting a model

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Etymology

Flow is so named because during Csíkszentmihályi's 1975 interviews several people described their 'flow' experiences using the metaphor of a water current carrying them along.^[2] The psychological concept of flow as becoming absorbed in an activity is thus unrelated to the older phrase "to go with the flow" which means "to conform". Conformism is a term used to describe the suspension of an individuals self-determined actions or opinions in favor of obedience to the mandates or conventions of ones peer-group, or deference to the imposed norms of a supervening authority. ...

Group flow

Csíkszentmihályi suggests several ways in which a group could work together so that each individual member could achieve flow. The characteristics of such a group include:

• Creative spatial arrangements: Chairs, pin walls, charts, but no tables; thus work primarily standing and moving.
• Playground design: Charts for information inputs, flow graphs, project summary, craziness (here also craziness has a place), safe place (here all may say what is otherwise only thought), result wall, open topics
• Parallel, organized working
• Target group focus
• Advancement of existing one (prototyping)
• Increase in efficiency through visualization
• Existence of differences among participants represents an opportunity, rather than an obstacle.

Applications

Applications suggested by Csíkszentmihályi versus other practitioners

It is worth noting that only Csíkszentmihályi seems to have published suggestions for extrinsic applications of the Flow concept, such as design methods for playgrounds to elicit the Flow experience. Other practitioners of Csíkszentmihályi's Flow concept focus on intrinsic applications, such as spirituality, performance improvement or self-help. Reinterpretations of Csíkszentmihályi's Flow process exist to improve performance in areas as diverse as business [1], piano improvisation, sport psychology [2], and standup comedy [3]. Intrinsic describes a characteristic or property of some thing or action which is essential and specific to that thing or action, and which is wholly independent of any other object, action or consequence. ... All Saints Chapel in the Cathedral Basilica of St. ... Intrinsic is used to describe a characteristic or property of some thing or action which is specific to that thing or action, and which is wholly independent of any other object, action or consequence. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... Performance improvement is the concept of measuring the output of a particular process or procedure, then modifying the process or procedure in order to increase the output, increase efficiency, or increase the effectiveness of the process or procedure. ... Though the term self-help can refer to any case whereby an individual or a group betters themselves economically, intellectually or emotionally, the connotations of the phrase have come to apply particularly to psychological or psychotherapeutic nostrums, often purveyed through the popular genre of the self-help book. ... In economics, a business (also called firm or enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers or corporate entities such as governments, charities or other businesses. ... Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the taste or inclination of the musician(s) involved; in many cases the musicians make an active effort to avoid overt references to recognizable musical genres. ... Sport psychology is a specialization within psychology that seeks to understand psychological/mental factors that affect performance in sports, physical activity and exercise and apply these to enhance individual and team performance. ... The legendary Richard Pryor hits the money line The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ...

Education

In education, there is the concept of overlearning which seems to be an important factor in this technique, in that Csíkszentmihályi^[3] states that overlearning enables the mind to concentrate on visualizing the desired performance as a singular, integrated action instead of a set of actions. Overlearning is a pedagogical concept according to which newly acquired skills should be practiced well beyond the point of initial mastery, leading to automaticity. ...

Music

Musicians, especially improvisational soloists can experience a similar state of mind while playing their instrument. In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ...

Sports

The concept of "being in the zone" during an athletic performance fits within Csíkszentmihályi's description of the Flow experience, and theories and applications of "being in the zone" and its relationship with athletic competitive advantage are topics studied in the field of sport psychology.^[4] Sport psychology is a specialization within psychology that seeks to understand psychological/mental factors that affect performance in sports, physical activity and exercise and apply these to enhance individual and team performance. ...

Timothy Gallwey's influential works on the inner game of sports such as golf and tennis described the mental coaching and attitudes which were required to get into the zone and so fully internalise mastery of the sport.^[5] Tim Gallwey is an author who has written a series of books in which he has set forth a new metholdogy for coaching he calls The Inner Game. ... This article is about the game. ... For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ...

Roy Palmer suggests that "being in the zone" may also influence movement patterns as better integration of the conscious and subconscious reflex functions improves coordination. Many athletes describe the effortless nature of their performance whilst achieving personal bests - see references.

The legendary soccer player Pelé described his experience of being in the zone: "I felt a strange calmness.. . a kind of euphoria. I felt I could run all day without tiring, that I could dribble through any of their team or all of them, that I could almost pass through them physically."[4] Another example was given by Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, who during qualifying for the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix said he felt like he was driving the car beyond his limits. "I was already on pole, [...] and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car. And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more. I was way over the limit but still able to find even more." Pele redirects here. ... Formula One, abbreviated to F1 and also known as Grand Prix racing, is the highest class of single-seat open-wheel auto racing. ... Ayrton Senna da Silva (pronounced / /, March 21, 1960 – May 1, 1994) was a Brazilian three-times Formula One world champion. ... Results from the 1988 Formula One Monaco Grand Prix held at Monaco on May 15, 1988. ...

Often in sports broadcasting an announcer will use one sports metaphor to describe another sport’s moment. One example could be ‘this guy is a home run hitter’ referring to a powerful running back in football. Current sportscaster and long time NFL quarterback Phil Simms said something similar to this when asked about his performance in Super Bowl XXI.

“It's my favorite game in my career, because it's everything I always wanted to be as a player. I wanted to be tough, making big throws, immune to pressure, not worried about outcomes. It was truly like standing on the tee box in golf and there's trees on each side and water and you just go 'Man, I'm gonna rip it down the middle.' And no other thought crosses your mind.”

This is exactly what Csikszentmihalyi means in regard to flow. Simms was “immune to pressure, not worried about outcomes”. It is a perfect example of optimal experience and the uses of talent. A good quarterback has the greatest game of his life in the biggest game of his life. When challenges and skills are simultaneously above average, a broadly positive experience emerges.^[6] Simms threw 22 completions out of 25 attempts for 268 yards and many still say it was the best game ever by a quarterback on the grandest stage. He had maximum concentration. Csikszentmihalyi and Jeremy Hunter state that concentration is a vital element in becoming completely involved with the present. So one must concentrate to achieve flow. Also a sense of control is vital to earning a flow state. Control, however, seems simultaneously effortless and masterful. Control and concentration also manifest with a transcendence of normal awareness. One aspect of this transcendence is the loss of self-consciousness.^[7] Simply put, an athlete’s focus is so intense and play elevated, they’re unstoppable.

Religion and spirituality

Csíkszentmihályi may have been the first to describe this concept in Western psychology, but as he himself readily acknowledges he was most certainly not the first to quantify the concept of Flow or develop applications based on the concept. Psychological science redirects here. ...

For millennia, practitioners of Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Taoism have honed the discipline of overcoming the duality of self and object as a central feature of spiritual development. Eastern spiritual practitioners have developed a very thorough and holistic set of theories around overcoming duality of self and object, tested and refined through spiritual practice instead of the systematic rigor and controls of modern science. The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures, social structures and philosophical systems of the East, namely Asia (including China, India, Japan, and surrounding regions). ... Buddhism is a Dharmic religion and philosophy[1] with between 230 to 500 million adherents worldwide. ... Taoism (pronounced or ; also spelled Daoism) refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. ...

The phrase "being at one with things" is a metaphor of Csíkszentmihályi's Flow concept. Practitioners of the varied schools of Zen Buddhism apply concepts similar to Flow to aid their mastery of art forms, including, in the case of Japanese Zen Buddhism, Aikido, Kendo and Ikebana. A woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, (Japan, 1887) depicting Bodhidharma the founder of Chinese Zen. ... This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ... Aikido ) is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. ... Kendo ), or way of the sword, is the martial art of Japanese fencing. ... Ikebana arrangement A Japanese hanging scroll (kakemono) and Ikebana Ikebana arranged flower),[1] is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō , the way of flowers) In contrast to the decorative form of flower arranging in western countries, Japanese flower arrangement emphasizes the linear aspects. ...

Gaming

Game designers, particularly video and computer games, benefit from integration of Flow principles into gameplay design. ^[8].

See also

• Creativity
• Hyperfocus
• Imagination
• Improvisation
• Mindfullness
• Motivation
• Mushin
• Play
• Prayer
• Spirituality
• Taoism
• Trance

For other uses of Creativity, see Creativity (disambiguation). ... Hyperfocus describes an intense form of mental concentration or visualization that focuses consciousness on a narrow subject, or beyond objective reality and onto subjective mental planes, daydreams, concepts, fiction, the imagination, and other objects of the mind. ... For other uses, see Imagination (disambiguation). ... Improvisation is the practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment. ... Motivation is a word used to refer to the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior, especially human behavior. ... Mushin (無心) is a state into which very highly trained martial artists are said to enter during combat. ... Play might be described as unrestrained, amusing interaction with people, animals, or things, often in the context of learning. ... For other uses, see Prayer (disambiguation). ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... Taoism (pronounced or ; also spelled Daoism) refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts. ... Trance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

References

Footnotes

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ... Harper & Row is an imprint of HarperCollins. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notations

• Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-092820-4
• Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (1998). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement With Everyday Life. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-02411-4 (a popular exposition emphasizing technique)
• Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (2003). Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-200409-X
• Egbert, Joy (2003), “A Study of Flow Theory in the Foreign Language Classroom”, The Modern Language Journal 87 (4): 499-518 .
• Jackson, Susan A. & Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (1999). Flow in Sports: The Keys to Optimal Experiences and Performances. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Publishers. ISBN 0-88011-876-8
• Mainemelis, Charalampos (2001), “When the Muse Takes It All: A Model for the Experience of Timelessness in Organizations”, The Academy of Management Review 26 (4): 548-565 .
• Shainberg, Lawrence (1989-04-09), “FINDING 'THE ZONE'”, New York Times Magazine, <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0DD1E3FF93AA35757C0A96F948260&scp=1&sq=pele+%22felt+a+strange+calmness%22&st=nyt> 

Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Flow Resources Designed to promote understanding of flow experiences in sport and other physical activity or performance domains.
• flOw A flash based implementation of flow theory and immersion in a game format
• FlowTheory.com An MSc dissertation exploring the importance of website usability from a business perspective; contains a section on flow
• Solving Procrastination an application of Flow to solving procrastination by Kevin Chiu
• Archetype Writing The Right-Brain/Left-Brain Myth and Flow looks at the neurology behind flow.