Flow

Being in flow is often referred to as being in the zone – a state of intense involvement in an activity to the exclusion of all else. With the experience being so enjoyable that the person would do it, even at great cost to themselves.[1]

That state, absent of anxiety, characterised by enjoyment, concentration and absorption called flow is conducive to creativity, enhanced performance, improved well-being and is a key ingredient of ikigai (i.e., the reason you get up each day; your reason for being; your sense of purpose; your why)[2]. But what is flow and how do we get it?

What is Flow?

Flow comprises the following characteristics[3]:

Merging of action and awareness

Here, you are merged with your actions and have no awareness of existing independently of them. This causes the action to be automatic and involuntary.

Centering of attention on a limited stimulus field and a high level of concentration

Attention becomes focused on limited preferences which allows you to concentrate on the task. You are engaged and your affective (i.e., feelings) and cognitive (i.e. thoughts) preferences for the task are congruent. Productivity, creativity and retention power increases and there is a sense of feeling in control and calmer.[4]

The goals of an activity are also defined either prior to engagement or, as a result of engagement which then gives you an understanding of how they will proceed; the process you will adopt without obsessing over it.[5]

It is important to adopt a compass as opposed to a map approach. You need to have an understanding of what you are trying to achieve whilst recognising that the route to your objective or goal, just like the route to success, may not be direct but that it will be more engaging, fluid and efficient than holding steadfast to a preplanned map[6]. For example, athletes competing for gold need to be fully engaged in the particular activity in the moment. If they shift their focus to reflect on the medal they want to win or how good it will feel being on the podium, flow is lost and it is highly likely an error will occur and they will lose the competition.

Harmonious Passion is another example of where, taking pressure off the need to achieve an outcome allows for joy in the process which makes it easier to achieve flow.[7]

The way to build Harmonious Passion is to embrace the scaffolding of deliberate play. That is to engage in the activity in a way that makes building the skillset enjoyable – you redesign the activity to make it both developmental and motivating.[8] Here, free play is blended with structured and deliberate practice where novelty and variety are introduced and this can be in the tools utilised, the way in which you learn, the people with whom you interact or the goals you set.[9] For example in the sports arena deliberate play may be a subcomponent of a specific sport such as tennis, and you might seek to challenge yourself by, for example, seeing how many consecutive serves you can do.[10]

Deliberate play is also a way to make stressful tasks less stressful and reduce burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion when overloaded) and boreout (i.e., emotional deadening when under stimulated).[11]

Loss of Self-consciousness

There is a loss of sense of self when participating in the activity. This is extremely beneficial at times when we need some distance from daily life and the challenges it can bring.

High Sense of Control of One’s Actions

A sense of control can be observed without conscious effort to exert control. “The experience of flow tends to be centred on the likelihood of control, particularly the notion of exerting control in challenging circumstances”.[12]

Individuals with a strong internal locus of control (i.e. a belief that outcomes are dependent upon the work and the effort the individual puts in) are also more likely to enter a flow state.[13]

Csikszentmihalyi (1975) found that when the perceived demands of the situation match the skill level of the individual (particularly high skill/high challenge) flow is likely. This is key – the balance doesn’t determine flow, it just makes the occurrence more likely.[14]

Experience of Coherent and Non-contradictory Demands for Action and Unambiguous Feedback

Participation in the activity naturally garners regular feedback which lets you know if the objective has been achieved.[15] Those of us who are self-determined are usually very goal-oriented and want and may even seek the feedback.[16]

Paying attention reveals aptitude, efficacy and skill. In contrast, where we are easily distracted or switch attention to other tasks in between, flow is less likely. Our mind is not in order; we are not focused.[17] To have the best success of achieving flow we need to focus on one activity at a time.

Autoletic Nature

The activity itself is deemed intrinsically rewarding. Here you are intrinsically motivated. You are performing the activity for its own sake and do not require external rewards.[18] Research has also shown that those who feel intrinsically motivated also feel more in control of themselves.[19]

Transformation of Time

When participating in the flow activity time transforms. That is, long periods of time can appear to pass quickly[20] or brief time periods can seem to be happening in slow motion.[21]

Where Can You Find Flow?

The Cycle of Challenge - Seeking and Skill Building

The components of flow are interdependent and allow for the achievement of flow in different experiential states.

Flow conducive activities are broad in nature (e.g., everything from chess, to surgery to sport to arts) and are said to have a developmental component e.g., as in the case of deliberate play. This is because when we engage in an activity, we build mastery.

The idea is to find something that is aligned with your abilities but a little bit out of your comfort zone. You want to be able to stretch, hence build skillsets.

According to the Challenge-Seeking and Skill Building Model when your skillset outpaces your challenges, you will become bored.[22] The way to return to flow is to realign the balance by seeking out a new challenge in respect of the activity. An example of this might be “interleaving” (i.e. alternating between different skills) where you could make a small adjustment to stretch your skillset in a particular area. For example, shifting from using a thick paintbrush to using a thinner paint brush when painting or vice versa.[23]

The Challenge-Seeking and Skill Building Model proposes that “the intrinsic rewards of flow experiences motivate people to engage in a cycle of challenge – seeking and skill building until they master a high level of skill compatible with a high level of challenge.”[24] They achieve optimal performance.

The Domains of Work and Leisure

Research suggests that the key domains for flow are work and leisure. Csikszentmihalyi & LeFevre (1989) reported that flow is more prevalent in the work domain when compared with leisure activities and it is believed that this is due to the “challenge-skill match” generally expected in that space.[25] However, it has also been posited that the line between work and leisure is blurred where intrinsic motivation is at play.[26]

Skills garnered in leisure can be useful in the workspace, particularly for self-determined people who want to improve the quality of their life beyond the obligatory parameters of work. Organisations that recognise this and allow for leisure activities, such as deliberate play, by employees for creativity, innovation and skill development may also be better at navigating the VUCA (i.e., Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world in which we live.

Learning during leisure activities promotes a sense of purpose, contributes to ikigai and is a driver for optimal performance.[27] Further, the more self-determined we are the bigger the influence we have on the various flow factors such as clear goals, focused attention/concentration on the task at hand, challenge-skill balance, unambiguous feedback and a sense of control[28].

Flow as we Age

As we age, discrepancies can arise between the skillset we have and the relevant challenge. Unless we have reached a boundary condition where skill decline is significant and the sustainability of flow unlikely, the discrepancies between the skillset and the challenge does not mean that we cannot experience flow, it means that wherever possible, with sufficient motivation to do so, we simply renegotiate the challenge. So, for example, you might go from playing sport at the professional level to preferring to participate on an amateur basis or you might redefine the flow conducive activity as coaching in that domain.[29]

Consequently, and subject to the boundary condition, as we age, motivation, engagement and concentration remain it is just the context or nature of the flow conducive activity that changes.[30]Further, research has found that it isn’t so much the nature of the flow conducive activity, be it cognitive, physical or social in nature, that is important, it is how intensely we do the activity that will determine the quality of flow.[31]

Summary

To be fully engaged with an activity, be it in the domains of work or leisure, is to be in flow. It requires a loss of sense of self, a sense of being at one with our actions, the ability to be goal directed but flexible in how it is achieved, receptive to feedback, the ability to concentrate and focus on one task at a time and to find the performance of the activity rewarding in and of itself as well as a bit of a stretch so we feel challenged and not bored. I would encourage you to embrace your curiosity, seek out joyful challenges, build mastery and find your ikigai.

*************************

References

[1] Csikszentmihalyi, 1990 cited in Schiep – Tiska, A et al (2023). Distal and proximal motivational processes related to flow experience: Investigating the role of implicit motives, affective and cognitive preferences, and perceived abilities. Current Psychology. 42:1002-1012.
[2] Garcia, H and Miralles, F (2016). Ikigai. The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy life. Hutchinson. London.
[3] Csikszentmihalyi, 1975 cited in Schiep-Tiska, A et al (2023) pg 1002
[4] Garcia, H and Miralles, F (2016). Pg 67
[5] Taukari, A, Thakkar, P and Kini, N. (2023). From the Pleasure of Leisure to the Glow of Flow. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology. 14 (2), 216-220.
[6] Garcia, H and Miralles, F (2016).pg 61
[7] Grant, A. (2023). Hidden Potential.  W H Allen a division of Penguin Random House UK. Pg 91
[8] Ibid pg 95
[9] Ibid pg 92
[10] Ibid pg 94
[11] Ibid pg 90
[12] Taukari, A, Thakkar, P and Kini, N. (2023).pg 217
[13] Keller and Blowman (2008) cited in Schiep-Tiska, A et al (2023) pg 1003.
[14] Schiep – Tiska, A et al (2023).pg 1003
[15] Taukari, A, Thakkar, P and Kini, N. (2023). Pg 217
[16] Ibid pg 219
[17] Garcia, H and Miralles, F (2016).pg 58
[18] Schiep – Tiska, A et al (2023).pg 1002
[19] Taukari, A, Thakkar, P and Kini, N. (2023) pg 219
[20] Ibid pg 217
[21] Waterman, S. (2022). Zoned-In and Zoned-Out: An Analysis of the Roles of Automaticity and Mindedness in Flow Experiences. The Journal of Mind and Behavior Summer 2022, Volume 43, Number 3. 205-234
[22] Tse, D. C.K, Nakamura, J and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2022). Flow Experiences Across Adulthood: Preliminary Findings on the Continuity Hypothesis. Journal of Happiness Studies. 23: 2517-2540
[23] Grant, A. (2023) pg 99
[24] Tse, D. C.K, Nakamura, J and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2022).  pg 2519
[25] Ibid pg 219
[26] Perkins & Nakamura (2013) cited in Taukari, A, Thakkar, P and Kini, N. (2023) pg 219
[27] Taukari, A, Thakkar, P and Kini, N. (2023) pg 219
[28] Ibid pg 220
[29] Tse, D. C.K, Nakamura, J and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2022) pg 2519
[30] Ibid pg 2519
[31] Taukari, A, Thakkar, P and Kini, N. (2023) pg 219