Basis of flow

The theory of flow was introduced by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. It is simple, but it’s impact on anyone that truly understands it’s meaning is unimaginable. The theory of flow states that when someone is in control and aroused towards what he is doing, productivity, quality and learning are inflated. This happens because the individual is fully involved in an activity for himself. Here is an example; a musician that is passionate about music and has enough knowledge to write his own composition, if you are standing beside him you might see him writing the notes on a paper, but to him he hears the music, pictures the sound and does not even notice your presence. If you don’t play music here is a other way of understanding this. You are running during a competition. You run and run but after a moment you enter a state of flow so your feet move by themselves.You are tired, your lungs are about to give up but you do not notice that you are there, in the moment running, and the finish line being the sole objective.

To achieve this state according to its founder Dr. Csíkszentmihályi there are ten factors that would induce the mind into a state of flow. He does also mention that not all factors must be present to achieve flow. You will need a clear goal and it must be challenging but achievable. You must be concentrated and focused on the task at hand, intrinstic motivation must be present. The ego must be gone; this is described by the feeling of serenity and distortion of time meaning that you lose track of time followed by the knowledge that this is a doable task which is perfectly balanced between skill and challenge. The outcome is a feeling of personal control over the task. Once all those steps are attained the last one should in principle come on it’s own causing lack of awareness of physical needs.

On that note, there will be much more information on flow in the following weeks !

written by: Tarek Benzouak