TL;DR: Human beings are capable of entering a “flowstate” where they experience total concentration, immersion and it is generally marked by a loss of self-consciousness.
Introduction
Welcome back, biohacker.
Today we will be discussing arguably the most enjoyable state for a human being to be in: the flowstate. While you may have heard the term thrown around while browsing online forums and discussed on university campuses, today we will break down everything you need to know about the flowstate and why it is so valuable to the human experience.
We will start by covering a working definition of the flowstate. After getting what a flowstate actually is on the table, we will then talk about how it pertains to happiness, consciousness, quality of life, and its value to the body and the mind. Following these points, we will explore in more detail the conditions for flow’s presence in the human mind.
After discussing its many reaching branches, we will explore how flow impacts one’s work, which will subsequently bring us to discussing realistic ways to enter flowstates. Finally, this article will conclude by exploring how flow can bring an increased sense of meaning to one’s life as a whole.
Before we jump into the definition of flow, it is important to note that all of this information on flow will be derived from the work of the leading expert in the field, Hungarian-American psychologist Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. For your reference, here is what Wikipedia has to say about Dr. Csikszentmihalyi:
“Csikszentmihalyi is noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity, but is best known as the architect of the notion of flow and for his years of research and writing on the topic. He is the author of many books and over 290 articles or book chapters.”[1]
With our introduction out of the way and Dr. Csikszentmihalyi’s high standing credentials plainly laid out, we will now jump into our preliminary definition of what a flowstate is. This will be coupled by an example to help grasp the concept, which you, the reader, have no doubt experienced several times in your life.
Let’s get flowing.
What Is a Flowstate?
Think of an occasion when time completely seemed to fly by. For some this is when they are working on a paper for university, for some this is when watching a very good movie, and for others this is simply when playing video games. In fact, as we will soon see, even doing recreational drugs, from marajuana all the way to heroin (check out our Drugs stream HERE) could fit into the definition of flow. While these are only some of the many examples of flowstates this article will explore, these are undoubtedly some of the most obvious and common.
We mentioned in the introduction that we would provide you with a working/preliminary definition of flow to get us started. The reason the initial definition will be a work in progress is because as our discussion evolves, so will our need for a more accurate definition of flow itself. So, for now, we will use the following as our definition of what flow actually is and what it feels like:
The state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.[2]
Flowstates and Happiness
In Dr. Csikszentmihalyi’s medical and explorative practice, he makes reference in his works to his efforts to distill exactly what makes human beings happy. While some may estimate it is money or possessions, what really makes us happy, according to him, is extended periods of stretching our abilities to their limits. In other words, optimal experience – a concept that will continue to pop up throughout this discussion – seems to depend on two main components.[3]
The first is that our abilities are sufficiently stretched. Not to a point where we cannot hope to achieve the goal – that is anxiety provoking. Conversely, also not a challenge that is too easy – that is simply boring. For optimal experience, we need it to be in that perfect Goldilocks zone.
The second requirement for an activity to bring happiness through flow, is for us to perceive it as worthwhile. Despite monotonous and mundane challenges like picking up pebbles for hours pushing us to our limits of concentration and perhaps our bodily limits too, as we do not perceive this activity as worthwhile, happiness will not be found in this activity (except for a very bizarre and rare few…).
Shifting gears a little, when discussing happiness as it pertains to flowstates, it’s crucial to investigate where the majority of happiness is lost in otherwise potentially happiness-conferring activities.
Dr. Csikszentmihalyi posits that most opportunities for flow are lost through the enforcement of various social controls. Without getting too esoteric, this is essentially to say that whereas one might be able to get into a state of flow at say, work or school, the reason why one often doesn’t is largely due to a sort of external compulsion to carry out a given task.
For instance, many students report disliking reading, but when they get older, discover that reading is actually a very pleasant activity. While one explanation for this phenomenon might be that people, with age, grow into reading, another and more likely explanation according to Dr. Csikszentmihalyi, is that the social control to read eliminates what happiness would have otherwise been bestowed to the reader in a setting characterized by voluntary action.
Thankfully, there appears to be hope for the connection between action and happiness and it lies within the realm of what one can control, even in the face of social control (check out our article on how to think for yourself HERE).
The key is as follows: one must find meaning in one’s present activities and a way to turn an activity into one that stretches one’s abilities.[4]
While this is certainly easier said than done, with practice this can become second nature. For example, if you’re an assembly line worker responsible for, say, hammering a piece of metal, try setting a highscore for how many you can do in 10 minutes. The meaning may be derived from training oneself into becoming a generally more productive and efficient person, and the ability-stretching is readily derived from repeatedly trying to beat one’s highscore.
In a word, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi has this to say about combating social control in order to unleash flow and generate happiness:
“The most important step in emancipating oneself from social controls is the ability to find rewards in the events of each moment. If a person learns to enjoy and find meaning in the ongoing stream of experience, in the process of living itself, the burden of social controls automatically falls from one’s shoulders.”[5]
Flowstates, Consciousness, the Self, and Quality of Life
Dr. Csikszentmihalyi argues that the Self is developed whenever we engage in activity that demands – and we accordingly give – the utmost concentration.
This argument hinges on the idea that when we enter a flowstate, we never emerge the exact same as we entered.
The reason for this is that when we are fully immersed in a piece of art or in a game of ping pong, we come out with our cognitive and/or physical skills slightly sharpened, or new experiences that will shape subsequent experiences and perceptions. In a sense, we enjoy some sort of psycho-spiritual growth, as a result of each episode of flow.
In a word, each time you enter flow, you lose self-consciousness, but paradoxically, your “Self” will emerge more developed. With new skills and new accomplishments, the Self is enriched by the routine focusing on the Other.[6]
With the Self now a big part of the discussion, it’s important to note that the Self is basically what we mysteriously refer to as “our consciousness,” and is generally driven by its search for optimal experience or the best quality of life.
Now, at this stage, it is crucial to bring in an important point. Many people will look at ‘quality of life’ and assume that what is most important is pleasure. This, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi thinks, is not actually ideal and he explains why here:
Pleasure is a feeling of contentment that one achieves whenever information in consciousness says that expectations set by biological programs or by social conditioning have been met.[7]
Important to realize, though, is that sex, food, rest, etc. are all pleasurable based on this definition of pleasure. However, these do not cause psychological growth in a human, necessarily. They are generally restorative homeostatic experiences commissioned by the body.[8] Therefore, pleasure ought not to necessarily be thought of as something essential for optimal experience or highest quality of life.
Despite flow being involved in arguably all of the pleasurable things just mentioned above, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi draws our attention to the fact that in some cases, flow can actually be a negative force for one’s overall quality of life if improperly used.
When a person becomes so dependent on the ability to control an enjoyable activity that he cannot pay attention to anything else, then he loses the ultimate control: the freedom to determine the content of consciousness. (Find out how to build and break bad habits HERE.)
Thus, enjoyable activities that produce flow have a potentially negative aspect: while they are capable of improving the quality of existence by creating order in the mind, they can become addictive, at which point the Self becomes captive of a certain kind of order, and is then unwilling to cope with the ambiguity of life.[9]
By now, you’re probably asking yourself, ‘If pleasurable activities are not the key to developing the Self, then what sorts of activities are?”
The answer is, autotelic ones.
With “auto” referring to the self and telos referring to goals, the term autotelic means: activities, which are undertaken for their own sake.[10] For example, two actions may be ostensibly equivalent, but done for different reasons may render one activity being autotelic, and the other not.
One girl may dance because her mother forces her to, and the other girl may dance because she is entirely fulfilled when she glides across the floor. While the former girl is compelled by aforementioned ‘social controls,’ the latter girl is undertaking an autotelic activity, which will result in her developing the Self, expanding her consciousness, and enjoying a higher quality of life.
Conditions for Flow & Optimal Experience Continued
When discussing the conditions for flow, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi has a very particular idea in mind…
He explains that for flow to take place, a sense that one’s skills are adequate to cope with the challenges at hand in a goal directed, rule bound action system that provides clear cues as to how well one is performing are required.[11]
Moreover, in this state, “…concentration is so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant, or to worry about problems.”[12] Importantly, Csikszentmihalyi introduces a new description to the former definition of flow: “Self-consciousness disappears, and the sense of time becomes distorted”.[13]
Reaching back to our idea of autotelic activities, flow conditions are perhaps best described as activities that produce such experiences that are so gratifying that people are willing to do them for their own sake, with little concern for what they will get out of it, even when it is difficult, or dangerous.[14]
So, as we’ve made it this far, let’s give a little example involving what we’ve covered in order to understand what we’re currently dealing with:
Suppose John is a boxer. When John first started boxing, if he were to fight someone who had been very experienced, perhaps Iron Mike Tyson, he would not enter flow, as the challenge far exceeded his capabilities and would just provoke anxiety (would you want to fight Mike Tyson with only 2 sparring sessions under your belt?!)
Conversely, as John progresses in boxing experience, fighting boxers at the novice level, like he used to, will no longer challenge him either. Built into this example is a hidden axiom of life that we saw before in the depiction of the assembly line worker setting and attempting to beat his highscore… Namely, that you cannot enjoy doing the same thing at the same level for long…
Flow requires that you constantly find the Goldilocks ‘just-right’ zone, that stretches one’s faculties to their limits without stretching them too far beyond one’s reasonable abilities.
Additionally, if John were boxing only to appease his father, flow could not be possible either. Boxing for John must be an autotelic venture that is done for its own sake, despite the very real chances of a concussion or broken nose.
If these prerequisites are met, then John will enter flow while boxing and each time will emerge with a Self that is slightly more developed – or as Dr. Csikszentmihalyi says, complex – than if John had boxed for ulterior “socially controlled” motives.
Ultimately, then, we might say that if we apply these principles to any activity we do, and by practicing these principles regularly, we can hope to develop the holy grail of what flow can bestow: an autotelic personality.[15]
Flow and the Body
So far we have spoken in relatively psycho-spiritual terms. From this discussion it may seem that flow is mostly a practice that cannot easily be applied to the body. The truth, however, is quite to the contrary.
Flow can be a bodily experience that is very valuable to the growing complexity of the Self. When focusing energy or concentration on something, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi refers to this as applying psychic energy.[16] As such, when we apply intentional psychic energy to our bodily senses, they readily contribute to our body and mind’s ability to enter flow on increasingly more sophisticated levels.
For example, when a wine sommelier applies active concentration to the flavors she tastes in her mouth when she sips from her glass, she is opening proverbial doors that would otherwise not open if she were to distract herself by simultaneously watching TV… (Check out our article on staying present HERE.)
As she continues this practice time and time again, her senses become increasingly refined to the point that her palate can detect notes she could not have years prior. In this sense, she is developing the complexity of this bodily sense, which in turn delivers her to a state of yet higher flow.
Similarly, when a classical music connoisseur sits down, eyes closed and listens to Bach or Mozart, he begins to distil the particulars of the instruments and their unique contribution to the overall symphony. Again, we see a cyclical flywheel: a display of more complexity conferring more flow, which in turn contributes to a wholly more complex Self, which subsequently allows for higher states of flow.
Flow, and Psychic Energy Direction
At this point, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi introduces yet another requirement for optimal experience and potent flowstates: constant feedback.
The reason constant feedback is vital for uninterrupted flowstates is that it allows the individual to constantly readjust their behaviour as their skills and challenges mount. For example, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi noted that it is often self-reported that surgeons often become addicted to the act of performing surgery.
While one explanation is that they are doing incredibly meaningful work – and this is very flow inducing as well, one of the main reasons they say they are so addicted to performing surgery is that it requires utmost concentration of all their faculties and offers immediate and constant feedback.[17]
For those who don’t know, surgery generally follows the following maxim: if there is blood in the cavity, something has gone wrong.
Now, with feedback being so readily given at every single second, surgeons know how and when to adjust what they’re doing. The same phenomenon is true in sports, music, and video games to name a few more examples.
Another important prerequisite for optimal flow, is the ordered direction of the mind/psychic energy.[18] In his book, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi recounts the story of a sailor he came across while he was sailing out at sea. Csikszentmihalyi stopped by the sailor’s boat as he could smell it all the way from where he was, out in his own vessel. When he approached the sailor’s boat, he asked what that horribly putrid smell was.
The unassuming sailor replied “Well, to tell ye’ the truth, I had a few dozen eggs that I had forgotten about and had gone rotten. I had the option to throw them overboard, or I could smash them all on my deck so that I would have to scrub ‘em all off.” The sailor then divulged that he basically lived at sea and that there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot to do given that he had read all the books on board.
While this may seem crazy, the same thing is witnessed by the bizarre behaviour found in solitary confinement prisoners, when they start counting and carving numbers into their cells. Ultimately, the mind craves a way to provide itself with order. When there is no external order, it looks to create it so as to experience some sense of flow.
As a note, this is one of the reasons why today’s addiction to smartphone use is so damaging to our mind’s natural tendencies and development. By constantly ‘giving us something to do’ we seldom seek nor require the kind of psychic order that leads to new great works of music, or world class novels. We have effectively eradicated the precursor to one of our greatest tools for ordering and directing our psychic energy – boredom.
Here, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi provides us with a succinct enumeration of what is vitally important to flow, which includes some of the additions we’ve made to the original definition along our journey:
“What counts is to set a goal, to concentrate one’s psychic energy, to pay attention to the feedback, and to make certain that the challenge is appropriate to one’s skill.”[19]
The Contemplative Life or the Life of Action
Ultimately, flow is to be understood as a tool that can lead to optimal experience and an analogue to introducing as much complexity to the Self as possible. While there are many more things that can be said about flow both in general and with respect to its vast potential applications to increase the quality of one’s life, perhaps the most important is the following and final discussion of this article.
Dr. Csikszentmihalyi revisits Aristotle and his teacher Plato’s view, that the best life is one of contemplation. Supporting their view, a modern understanding of flow helps us best grasp over 2000 years later why these ancient greek thinkers had it right…
In a word, there are really two lives worth considering fit for our living. The first is the life of action and the second is the contemplative life.
While the life of action is one that definitely can bring happiness and temporary flow, it suffers from one fatal flaw: that once one’s goal is accomplished, one is left often devoid of purpose unless one changes or adopts new goals.
On the other hand, the contemplative life – a life where the goal is to assign as much concentration to the contents of one’s mind as possible – is an infinite pursuit devoid of a marked finish line.
As the goal is never, in the strict sense, achieved by the character of its nature, in theory, a life in constant and eternal flow could be achieved. As it is through flow that we increase the complexity of the Self, an infinitely complex Self can bring us closer to our creator (which is, after all, generally the objective of religion and spirituality alike).
Whether it’s God, Allah, Mother Nature, or the Universe itself, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi along with Plato and his student Aristotle, agree that it is through a contemplative life, that man most readily pursues what he is in the world to pursue.
Conclusion
If you recall, we started with the definition of flow being: The state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.
Throughout our discussion, we’ve covered such topics as happiness, consciousness, the Self, optimal experience, psychic energy, the mind and body, complexity, and autotelic activities and personality (recall that the term autotelic literally means “a self that has self-contained goals” and it reflects the idea that such an individual has relatively few goals that do not originate from within the self.)[20]
To the original definition of flow, these topics gave us a richer understanding of how flow operates and what it requires. Namely, we feel time fly by when in flow, each time we manage to achieve flow the Self emerges slightly more developed, and that boredom may actually be an essential catalyst to propel us into otherwise undiscovered energy, focus and self-determination.
Despite all these great things, flow can actually be a negative if it is routinely caused by things that negate and prevent us from directing our psychic energies, such as in drug use and other addictions. If, however, we remain in control of our energy’s direction, through repeatedly engaging in flow, we become more and more complex beings.
At the end of the day, happiness is truly what’s important. Dr. Csikszentmihalyi along with some of the best thinkers to ever breathe Earth’s air agreed that we must take time to contemplate our daily lives. While Plato and Aristotle did not speak of flow per se, they certainly experienced it and described it in volumes.
Finally, if there’s one thing to take away from this article about happiness and flowstates in general, it is perhaps this quote given to us by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi himself:
“Basically, happiness comes from when you assign goals to the present moment. Oftentimes happiness, especially retrospectively comes from difficult things you did. If you can assign goals in present moments and accomplish those goals, you become happy in the present and then you can revisit the trials and tribulations associated with accomplishing those goals later on and be happy again.”
Best of luck biohacker, and keep moving UpRiver.
References:
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi
[2]Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Harper Perennial Modern Classics). 1st ed., Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2008. Pg. 4
[3]Ibid. Pg. 3
[4]Ibid. Pg. 19
[5]Ibid. Pg. 19
[6]Ibid. Pg. 65 – 66
[7]Ibid. Pg. 45
[8]Ibid. Pg. 46
[9]Ibid. Pg. 62
[10]Ibid. Pg. 67
[11]Ibid. Pg. 71
[12]Ibid. Pg. 71
[13]Ibid. Pg. 71
[14]Ibid. Pg. 71
[15]Ibid. Pg. 76
[16]Ibid Ch.5
[17]Ibid. Pg 156
[18]Ibid. Pg 174
[19]Ibid. Pg. 190.191
[20]Ibid. Pg. 20
