Characteristics of Flow

Recognizing flow

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi identified several different components of flow in his research interviewing peak performers. As we’ve discussed previously, he found that flow experiences are generally challenging activities that require skills. In addition to these required aspects of flow, he found that when people have flow, they tend to describe similar features in their experiences—a merging of action and awareness, a paradox of control, a transformation of time, a loss of self-consciousness, concentration on the task at hand, clarity of goals and immediate feedback. These elements aren’t included in every flow experience, but they do frequently happen when flow happens. We hope that as you understand these components of flow, you will be able to better identify when you experience flow and make it happen more often.

Two of Csikszentmihalyi’s components of flow are a loss of self-consciousness and a merging of action and awareness.  As Csikszentmihalyi described in his book, in a state of flow, “there is no excess psychic energy left over to process any information but what the activity offers.” There are no thoughts about the future, there are no worries about whether you look good doing the activity, and there are no background thoughts about other problems unrelated to the task. In fact, researchers have found that when people participate in flow activities, the part of the brain which is responsible for self-awareness is “turned off,” only to be turned on again after the activity is complete. In a flow experience, your consciousness only needs to be focused on your flow activity.

People who experience flow also describe having a transformation of time as they have their flow experiences. Because time is sometimes irrelevant to completing the task at hand, people sometimes describe their perception of time as being slowed down or sped up. This slowing down or speeding up of time is generally beneficial to the person’s performance in the activity, and it helps them achieve their goals better. However, it may be temporarily detrimental to other aspects of their life—they may forget to sleep, eat, or attend to other obligations because of this distortion.

As Csikszentmihalyi writes, people also frequently describe experiencing a paradox of control during flow. Flow experiences are generally experiences in which one’s success or failure are completely determined by their actions. Because of this, people generally feel like they’re in complete control of everything in the situation. They feel powerful and completely capable in these experiences. Although failure can occur in flow experiences—a teammate may trip and break a basketball player’s leg, or a rock climber may have a rock give out under her weight—the person experiencing flow tends to have a subjective feeling of being in control. The paradox arises from the feeling of complete control even though that is not the reality.

The above components of flow are helpful when you’re trying to recognize when you’re experiencing flow. As you’re trying to have more flow experiences, you can look back on your past experiences and try to repeat those that match the descriptions above. Csikszentmihalyi also describes several necessary conditions for flow experiences to occur. As you try to increase the frequency of your flow experiences, you can try to integrate these necessary conditions into more experiences. 

Necessary conditions of flow

The first necessary condition of flow is participating in a challenging activity that requires skill. The level of challenge and skill are relative in this context—you don’t need to be playing in the NBA to experience flow. However, you should feel like the activity is difficult enough that it poses a significant challenge so that you aren’t simply bored while you’re completing it. In addition, you should feel like the activity is difficult enough that it taxes your skills and abilities. This way, your automatic processes will engage, and you will be able to participate in the activity without using conscious thought. 

Csikszentmihalyi also writes that the presence of good feedback is essential to flow. When people have immediate, clear feedback on their success or failure, they are able to experience flow. This feedback is apparent in the flow experiences of rock climbers—it’s very clear if you’re getting higher up the face of the mountain or not. If there is no clear feedback, you may find yourself thinking about whether you are being successful in the activity, which will pull your attention away from the activity and reduce your performance. Flow experiences tend to come when people have clear feedback about whether what they’re doing is right. 

Researchers have also determined that a clear and proximal goal is a necessary element to experiencing flow. Csikszentmihalyi wrote that a state of having no clear rules about what is right or wrong (which he called anomaly) makes it impossible to have flow. When people have to spend time thinking about what their objective is, their energy is pulled away from the activity and they will be successful at accomplishing anything. On the other hand, when people have a clear and proximal goal to achieve, their mind can completely focus on their actions, without worrying about whether the actions are the correct ones.

Flow vs Pleasure

Although flow experiences are fulfilling, they are not necessarily enjoyable. People may not describe flow experiences as enjoyable or pleasant until long after the experience is over. During flow experiences, people may be so engrossed in their task that they don’t think about whether they’re happy or not. Rather, flow represents the fulfilling of one’s potential and the maximizing of one’s abilities. This feeling of meeting one’s potential—not a momentary feeling of pleasure—is what drives people to repeat flow activities. 

Pleasure should not be confused with flow. As Czikszentmihalyi said in his book on flow, “Pleasure is an important component of the quality of life, but by itself it does not bring happiness… [Pleasurable experiences] do not produce psychological growth. They do not add complexity to the self.” Pleasurable experiences, such as eating when you’re hungry or relaxing after a long day, are important for your physical and mental health, but they do not provide growth, and they do not provide all of the benefits that flow does. It may be wise to limit yourself to a smaller amount of time for relaxation and use more of your time in activities that are meaningful, effortful, and engaging.