‘An optimal state of consciousness’: is flow the secret to happiness?

What is the concealed to happiness? In a 2004 Ted Talk, scientist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi boldly claimed to person the answer: flow.

Flow is the acquisition of being wholly absorbed successful a peculiar task. Sometimes we telephone it being “in the zone”. Csikszentmihalyi described it successful his Ted Talk arsenic an “effortless, spontaneous feeling” and an “ecstatic state”.

“Flow is an optimal authorities of consciousness wherever we consciousness our champion and we execute our best,” says Steven Kotler, an author, writer and manager of Flow Research Collective, a grooming and probe organization. People tin get into a travel authorities erstwhile doing “just astir anything”, helium adds. Athletes acquisition it. So bash musicians, writers, accountants, gamers – you sanction it.

Since the conception of travel archetypal entered the mainstream successful 1975, erstwhile Csikszentmihalyi published his publication Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow successful Work and Play, it has grown into a immense country of research. And it’s bully business. Everyone from multinational companies to sports teams wants to fig retired however their radical tin scope an “optimal authorities of consciousness” and execute their best.

An effortless, optimal, ecstatic authorities of being sounds lovely. So however bash you execute a travel state? And what tin propulsion you retired of it?

What is flow?

Flow is simply a “deep authorities of absorption successful which each constituent of the caput and assemblage enactment unneurotic towards 1 aim”, says Dr Cameron Norsworthy, scientist, athlete, main astatine the Flow Centre, a grooming and coaching organization, and writer of the upcoming publication How to Find Flow.

In Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, Cskiszentmihalyi talked to stone climbers, chess players, musicians and others who claimed to person experienced this authorities of total, blissful focus.

Csikszentmihalyi identified 7 conditions that look to beryllium contiguous erstwhile a idiosyncratic is successful a travel state:

• An aggravated absorption that “leads to a consciousness of ecstasy”

• Knowing precisely what you privation from 1 infinitesimal to the next

• Getting contiguous feedback connected what you are doing

• Knowing your extremity is achievable, adjacent if it is difficult

• Losing way of time

• Forgetting yourself – you are truthful focused connected your task that immoderate self-consciousness disappears

• Feeling portion of thing bigger than yourself

People tin acquisition travel doing tons of things, but not everyone tin acquisition travel doing the aforesaid things.

“I’m not a physicist, truthful if I were to beryllium down to a clump of equations that are commonplace to a physicist, they would beryllium excessively hard for me, and it would not beryllium a flow-inducing task,” explains Dr Richard Huskey, an subordinate prof successful the section of connection and cognitive subject programme astatine the University of California, Davis.

What are the benefits of flow?

Csikszentmihalyi called travel the concealed to happiness. But wherefore does it consciousness truthful good?

For travel to occur, says Norsworthy, determination needs to beryllium an interior harmony that allows 1 to absorption completely. Often, one’s “thinking brain” becomes little cardinal successful a travel state, meaning that our interior critics and accustomed well-worn intelligence narratives thin to disappear. This leaves america “feeling liberated” and “less bogged down by life’s stressors”, Norsworthy says.

Flow has besides been associated with respective signs of quality flourishing, says Huskey. This includes accrued productivity, improved performance, accrued creativity and semipermanent wellbeing and resilience.

Research has besides shown that travel tin support against depression, anxiousness and neuroticism, Kotler notes.

In short, the payment of travel is that it is associated with different beneficial states. But according to Huskey, the technological assemblage is inactive not wholly definite which intelligence and carnal mechanisms are down this state. “We’re conscionable present opening to bash the experimental enactment that moves america beyond correlation and into causation,” helium says.

How bash you get into flow?

There is nary on-off power for flow. “It would beryllium intolerable to ‘hack’ travel connected demand,” says Norsworthy. But we tin summation our chances to acquisition it, helium adds.

The cardinal to entering a travel authorities is correctly balancing the trouble of a task with one’s accomplishment level.

“Different combinations of situation and accomplishment pb to antithetic intelligence states,” says Huskey. A task with a debased grade of trouble that doesn’t necessitate overmuch accomplishment – say, washing the dishes – mightiness effect successful apathy. A task with a precocious grade of trouble wherever 1 doesn’t person the required accomplishment level – Huskey’s physics equations, for illustration – whitethorn pb to anxiety.

But if a task is hard and we person the high-level skillset indispensable to execute it, “we should beryllium much apt to acquisition flow,” says Huskey.

This besides means that portion you whitethorn not acquisition a travel authorities erstwhile you archetypal commencement practicing a caller accomplishment – specified arsenic running oregon doing calculus – arsenic you go much adept, you go much apt to get successful the zone.

Huskey points to his ain yoga practice. “When I archetypal got started, it was decidedly not a travel experience,” helium says. But implicit time, arsenic helium familiarized himself with the poses and breathing techniques, helium began to entree a travel state.

People tin besides acquisition travel successful groups, similar sports teams. “The situation of collaborating connected a associated task tin beryllium a root of travel successful and of itself,” says Huskey.

Some individuals look much prone to acquisition travel states than others. Research has shown those with an autotelic property – meaning the inclination to prosecute successful an enactment for its ain involvement alternatively than for immoderate imaginable reward – are much apt than others to acquisition flow.

What interrupts flow?

“Conflict disrupts harmony,” says Norsworthy, truthful immoderate interior struggle you whitethorn person astir however oregon wherefore you are undertaking an enactment volition undermine your quality to travel successful it. Lack of purpose, ambiguous goals, oregon engaging successful thing due to the fact that we consciousness we should alternatively than due to the fact that we privation to, are each factors that volition disrupt flow.

Flow besides requires attention, truthful thing that distracts america pulls america retired of flow.

“Distraction is the biggest slayer [of flow],” says Kotler. Things specified arsenic cellphone notifications, pings from emails and unfastened bureau plans wherever anyone tin travel speech to you astatine immoderate clip are each unspeakable for flow, helium says.

This doesn’t mean that you person to enactment from a sensory deprivation tank. But announcement what conditions look to facilitate travel for you, and which look to disrupt it. Take music, Huskey says.

“I tin lone perceive to definite types of euphony erstwhile I bash information analysis,” Huskey says. “If I’m listening to my perfectly favourite opus and I emotion the lyrics and I can’t assistance but sing along, my attraction gets drawn connected to the euphony but not the task.”

This is wherefore I walk astir of my time hooked up to brown noise, but possibly “rainfall” oregon “industrial instrumentality sounds” are much your thing. They’re each blandly inoffensive, distraction-free and highly hard to sing on to.