A flow state can be experienced by anyone in any activity. All it takes is the right balance of interest, skill, and challenge, along with a clear and realistic goal.
To a figure skater, flow state can feel like a rush where all movement happens automatically without thinking or even trying. A poet describes it as floating effortlessly within a realm where language and the world are one. A composer describes it as losing oneself into an ecstatic state where the music writes itself across the blank music paper of the mind.
This universal experience of flow has been shown to increase happiness, enjoyment, and meaning in life.
Sounds fantastic, right? But what exactly is flow state? And are there things we can do to get into flow?
In this article we’ll explore the science of flow states, it’s measurable effects on wellbeing, and offer tips on how to get into flow.
“[Flow is] a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 4)
In 1975 the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term ‘flow state’. And he defined flow as a state of absolute absorption within an equally enjoyable and challenging task.
But to know what flow really is, let’s look at how he discovered it.
As a budding positive psychologist following World War II, Csikszentmihalyi wondered: ‘when do people feel most happy?’. Following an early life of adversity, Mihaly’s research set out to explore this question.
Csikszentmihalyi found that happiness does not depend on outside causes, such as having more material resources, but on internal resources and perception. Csikszentmihalyi found that each person’s happiness must be self-cultivated.
Csikszentmihalyi studied the rare, but universal moments that people experience mastery over a task and the deep sense of enjoyment that comes with it. He called this an optimal experience.
To study optimal performance Csikszentmihalyi interviewed athletes, musicians, and artists. He found that these optimal performers all had something in common: they entered a state in which the activity flowed out of them without much effort.
“Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are balanced with the person’s capacity to act” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 52)
It can be easy to confuse the flow state with habitual activities used to assuage boredom. These might be the day-dreamy actions of doodling or humming. While doodling may seem like an experience of flow, it actually does little to increase positive qualities of joy.
An important difference between habitual activities and flow states is that the flow state actually works to cultivate enjoyment.
The enjoyment of a flow state is dependent upon the complexity of the activity.
Doodling may cultivate a day-dreamy experience, but it lacks the challenge, structure, and skill required to drop into a flow state.
By contrast, a coloring page can provide challenge through the structured lines of an image, requiring your hand-eye coordination to remain within the boundaries.
Activities that balance challenge and skill can yield richer and more enjoyable experiences.
When in a state of flow, a person enters a sweet spot between action and awareness. Their skills adequately meet the challenge and their psychic energy becomes absorbed by the activity.
“As a result, one of the most universal and distinctive features of optimal experience takes place: people become so involved in what they are doing that the activity becomes spontaneous, almost automatic; they stop being aware of themselves as separate from the actions they are performing” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 53) [2]
Most optimal experiences happen when activities are goal-directed and contained by rules. This allows your mind to relax into steady focus on a task without feeling overwhelmed.
There are seven main characteristics involved in the process of optimal experiencing or flow states.
When Csikszentmihalyi interviewed professionals about their experience of flow, they all mentioned at least one of the seven characteristics.
When all seven characteristics of flow occur, profound enjoyment and reward become possible despite the energy involved in a task.
When top performers were asked to describe their experience of the flow state:
Being in a flow state offers numerous benefits to our mental wellbeing and positive sense of self. Some of the many, researched benefits of flow experiences include:
We all feel positive and negative emotions daily. Emotional regulation is the ability to cope with our changing feelings in a healthy way.
A flow state can help provide a structured path towards achieving a goal, which can support emotional regulation.
When in a flow state, the challenge of activity equals a person’s skill level.
This means that in order to remain in a flow state, you have to challenge yourself and continue building your skills.
Flow states happen when there is a clear goal or direction. When in a flow state, feelings of accomplishment and intrinsic reward occur–that good feeling you get simply from completing the task at hand.
The experience of being in a flow state can enhance meaning in life through increasing intrinsic motivation. Finding motivation from internal resources can create greater inspiration.
from www.semanticscholar.org
Flow states can produce rewarding feelings that help activities feel more enjoyable on a neurological level. When rewarding feelings increase, enjoyment and fulfillment become possible.
Neurologically speaking, when you experience a state of flow your lose the habitual experience of what it feels like to be you.
What does this mean, and how is it a positive thing?
Research shows when you’re in a flow state, your frontal cortex goes offline. This is the part of the brain responsible for the logical, orderly, habitual decision making.
While the frontal cortex is necessary for surviving the modern world, like remembering where we put our keys, it is also the place of habit formation, and the seat of the “inner critic”. This is the voice inside our head that tells you you’re stupid or bad for making mistakes, or that you’re not good enough to take certain risks.
When your frontal cortex momentarily goes offline, your habitual sense of time, space, and self are skewed. This results in:
When your brain stops trying to fit experience into habitual frameworks new neural pathways have an opportunity to form. This results in:
The recipe for dropping into a flow state involves a few key factors:
When the above factors occur at once your focus can be absorbed completely by the activity at hand. A profound sense of effortlessness and joy is possible–welcome to flow!
Now that you know what flow is, how it affects your brain and the necessary factors for getting into flow, let’s look at a few tips to help you find more flow in your life.
Take some distraction-free time to brainstorm by creating a written list. Start by making 3 columns.
In the first column list 1-3 activities you care about, that you’re good at, or want to get better at.
In the second column write down realistic goals for each.
In the third column jot down a few concrete actions, you will take to meet your goal.
Since the essence of the flow state is a total immersive focus, creating a distraction-free environment is key.
Turn on the “Do Not Disturb” function on your phone. Put away your laptop. Tell your friends and family you are taking some time alone. Containing your activity will help you drop into ‘the zone’.
Biologically speaking, creating a ritual around our activity can create what’s called a homeostatic function in the environment. This means that our mind and body respond automatically to cues we set up, making it so it takes less effort to sink into focused action.
Ritualizing your activity can be as simple as listening to the same song before an activity, lighting a candle, or incense. Sound, light, smell are all-powerful cues to your brain about what it can expect and prepare for.
Feeling uninspired or stuck? Trying something new can help you find an activity that brings you into a flow state. Already an expert? Try adding in more challenges. Take a yoga class, a tennis lesson, a pottery workshop. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be an expert to find your flow!
Finding your flow state does not require you to run a marathon or invest in a new sport.
Remember the simple equation: Sufficient skills + adequate challenge= flow.
Activities like crossword puzzles, coloring pages, reading, or even cooking a meal can be completely immersive and produce the enjoyment of flow.
Being in a state of flow has been shown to increase enjoyment, happiness, and deepen meaning in life. The flow state helps strengthen wellbeing and internal resources through dedicated practice, rewarding accomplishments, and increased confidence. Happy flowing!
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