The activity is challenging, but not impossible. These elements can be present in any activity – sport, music, creative writing, business negotiations, public speaking etc. If you experience several of these (not necessarily all of them), you are probably experiencing Flow. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience – Steps towards enhancing the quality of life (New York 1990, on Google Books here), Csikszentmihalyi identifies various elements that characterise Flow. I’ll connect this to the background theory, and suggest why this might be the missing link between Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow, and the high-level, elite performance skills that so many coaches and performers are searching for. In this Introduction, I will summarise the classic description of Flowaccording to Csikszentmihalyi, and set out various connections which I’ll explore one-by-one and in greater depth in later posts: Griffin’s Dream Theory, Ericksonian Hypnosis, Ericsson’s Deliberate Practice, Neuroplasticity & Myelination, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Feldenkrais Method, Positive Psychology, Historically Informed Performance.Īlso in this post, I’ll identify one crucial element of Flow which has not so far received the attention it deserves. My aim is to reach a deeper understanding of how Flowworks on a pragmatic level, so that I can offer practical hints to anyone who wants to access Flowin their own activities. My approach is phenomenological, experiential, based on my personal experience and on observations reported to me by colleagues, teachers and students from their own individual experiences.
Whatever your particular application (arts, sports, business, creativity) Flowis the optimal state for efficient learning, effective training, and maximising one’s performance.Īs part of my research (read more here) for the Australian Centre for the History of Emotions (CHE, read more here), I’m investigating Flowin the context of various related disciplines. It’s that wonderful feeling when one is ‘in the zone’, simultaneously relaxed and concentrated, where one’s actions proceed effortlessly from a deep understanding of the situation. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of Flowwas enthusiastically taken up by musicians, sportsmen, businesswomen, creative types, indeed by anyone interested in learning, training and high-level performance.
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