By Zach Clement
We recently published a new module about flow experiences to our website, and we’re really excited about it. A couple writers and I spent a lot of time reading through the evidence-based literature on the topic of flow, deciding which concepts would help people in their everyday lives, and presenting them in a way that would be easy to understand. We hope that the module presents a thorough understanding of flow that can help you and others to build more meaningful and fulfilling lives.
The concept of flow was developed by researchers in order to understand why people have peak experiences. They have found that many factors—such as a balance of challenge and skill and a single-minded focus on the experience—can result in flow. In addition, several factors—such as negative self-talk or too much focus on the outcome of an activity—can prevent flow. They’ve been able to explain why two people working the exact same job might have wildly different experiences, and they’ve tested many interventions to help people experience more flow. We’ve used the findings in their research to provide practical recommendations on how you can transform your life to have more of these peak experiences.
Since learning about flow while working on the module, I’ve used the principles in the module to make activities in my life more fulfilling and meaningful. For example, when I went rock climbing recently, I used principles from the module to increase my experience of flow during the climb. In addition, I was able to modify my job window washing so that it was a flow experience rather than a boring experience. Learning about flow has given me the ability to make substantial positive changes in my life, and I hope the module will do the same for you.
Learning about flow can help you optimize your performance in a variety of activities, create meaning and fulfillment in your life, and establish healthier habits for yourself. It can help you recognize when you’re performing at your peak level, and understand why some activities involve peak performance. With that knowledge, you can make changes so that you spend more time in states of peak performance and less time feeling bored or stressed. We hope that you find the material in the module engaging, and that it can be a tool for you to increase the quality of your life.