State Of Flow Essay
Psych paper outline: 1400 words, 4 journal articles + three other cited works
Intro/Background: The state of flow happens under very specific conditions - when we encounter a challenge that is testing for our skills, and yet our skills and capacities are such that it is just about possible to meet this challenge. So both the challenge and the skills are at high levels, stretching us almost to the limit.
Activities that lead to a flow experience are called autotelic (from Greek: auto=self, telos=goal), because they are intrinsically motivated and pleasurable and have an end in themselves, rather than in some other secondary end product. This activity for me is surfing. It is always fun for me. All the hours i “practice" you’d think that I was really working, but its pretty much tireless fun. As you know, surfing is the thing in my life which everything else …show more content…
You can’t force it. Flow feels effortless because you’re brain is operating at a higher state of consciousness. Although athletes in the zone are incredibly locked in, their focus is never forced. Same thing goes at work. You’ve never had to push hard to find a great insight. If you think on your best performances or purest experiences in life, were you trying to exert a force on it? Most of the athletes I work with tell me that when they find the zone they simply “let go” and just absorb themselves in the present moment. It’s a selfless experience.
"Flow also happens when a person's skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable, so it acts as a magnet for learning new skills and increasing challenges. If challenges are too low, one gets back to flow by increasing them. If challenges are too great, one can return to the flow state by learning new skills.” -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Body 3: Avoid
Intro/Background: The state of flow happens under very specific conditions - when we encounter a challenge that is testing for our skills, and yet our skills and capacities are such that it is just about possible to meet this challenge. So both the challenge and the skills are at high levels, stretching us almost to the limit.
Activities that lead to a flow experience are called autotelic (from Greek: auto=self, telos=goal), because they are intrinsically motivated and pleasurable and have an end in themselves, rather than in some other secondary end product. This activity for me is surfing. It is always fun for me. All the hours i “practice" you’d think that I was really working, but its pretty much tireless fun. As you know, surfing is the thing in my life which everything else …show more content…
You can’t force it. Flow feels effortless because you’re brain is operating at a higher state of consciousness. Although athletes in the zone are incredibly locked in, their focus is never forced. Same thing goes at work. You’ve never had to push hard to find a great insight. If you think on your best performances or purest experiences in life, were you trying to exert a force on it? Most of the athletes I work with tell me that when they find the zone they simply “let go” and just absorb themselves in the present moment. It’s a selfless experience.
"Flow also happens when a person's skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable, so it acts as a magnet for learning new skills and increasing challenges. If challenges are too low, one gets back to flow by increasing them. If challenges are too great, one can return to the flow state by learning new skills.” -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Body 3: Avoid